Anything But Typical
by chissprincess
Summary: When Thrawn was transferred to the Accuser, he expected things to be complicated. But he didn't expect to fall in love. AU, PreYavin, ThrawnTycho SLASH
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Anything But Typical

**Summary: **When Lieutenant Thrawn was transferred to the Accuser, he expected things to be complicated. But he didn't expect to fall in love. AU, Thrawn/Tycho SLASH

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing, sadly. Well, I own a few things….like the laptop I'm writing this on…but I don't own anything in the story. So George and Tim and any other SW-type people reading this, don't sure me!

**Notes:** I wrote this a year or so ago for a friend, but never got the courage to open it to the rest of the world until now. It's my first real, completed SW fic and only my second story here on ff.n, so please read and review! Authors love reviews!

**WARNING: HERE BE SLASH**. If you don't like slash, you better not read this. Oh, and if you DO read it despite my warnings, don't bother posting a review to tell me how much you hate slash or how disgusted you are with my story. If you do, I'll just point and laugh. Otherwise, review away!

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**Chapter 1**

Thrawn stood before the full-length mirror in his cramped quarters, giving his reflection a stern gaze. His glowing eyes swept over the image before him, checking for out-of-place hairs or uniform creases. Not that he should have worried, really. As usual, his appearance was impeccable. With one final tug at the hem of his uniform jacket, he turned and strode from the room and headed towards the ship's largest mess hall, where he was to meet the Captain for an inspection of the crew.

At first, Captain Torrin Branok hadn't been too keen on having "Palpatine's latest pet project" assigned to his Star Destroyer. A loyal Imperial, he seriously doubted the ability of any non-human to make a decent janitor, much less a good officer. This inspection, Thrawn knew, was a way for Branok to see how Thrawn handled himself around the rest of the crew. The young Chiss allowed himself a tight smile as he thought of the coming inspection. _If only Branok knew my history, he would know what a ridiculous exercise this is, and he wouldn't be wasting our valuable time._

Within minutes, Thrawn had arrived at the designated meeting spot, to find Branok and his support staff already waiting. He gave them a crisp salute, standing at attention while the Captain studied him appraisingly. "You're early, Lieutenant. Good. I don't like to be kept waiting," Branok said.

Thrawn simply nodded to Branok, who in turn nodded to a nearby Major. The Major spoke into his comlink, and moments later the doors to the mess hall swung open. Branok turn and raised an eyebrow at Thrawn. "Shall we, Lieutenant?"

Tycho Celchu glowered at the floor of the small quarters he shared with three other pilots. _Well, it's supposed to be just three other pilots anyway_. There, lying right next to his perfectly polished boots, was a pair of underwear that certainly didn't belong to him or any of this roommates. It seemed that Idris had had his girlfriend over for the night. Again.

The Alderaanian sighed and kicked the underwear under Idris's bed, where he hoped they wouldn't be noticed if anyone decided to inspect their quarters. Tycho and the others didn't mind Idris having his girlfriend over, but really, leaving her underwear in their room was a little much.

It also annoyed him that Idris and his other roommates seemed bent on hooking him up with every female on the ship. Tycho had finally been honest with them and said that, while he appreciated their efforts on behalf of his happiness, he really wasn't attracted to any of the women on the _Accuser._ Come to think of it, he didn't remember ever being attracted to any woman. But he wasn't about to tell anyone that -- such things weren't very readily accepted in the Imperial Navy.

Tycho continued glaring as he pulled his boots on in preparation for the latest inspection. Branok seemed to like putting them through all kinds of little exercises like this. He insisted on his pilots practicing all the latest parade-ground formations, on his storm troopers looking identical (to the point of making one shorter-than-average trooper have extra-thick soles added to his boots), and on other things that, in Tycho's opinion, were highly impractical. But since there was no way out of it all, there was also no point in complaining. He could just hope that the experience would be quick and painless.

Tycho finally got his boots on and headed for the mess hall, arriving just in time. As he took his place beside Idris in the second row of pilots, the double doors at the opposite end of the hall slid open. The gathered troops snapped to attention as Branok strode in, followed closely by his staff…including the new lieutenant.

Taking his place beside Branok, Thrawn let his glowing gaze sweep across the troops. Those who did not have masks or helmets on wore looks of shock, all of them staring at the tall blue alien standing beside their Captain. _That needs to be fixed…they need more discipline than that. _

He followed Branok down the ranks of neatly arranged troops, giving them his most imposing stare. As he expected, most of them cringed, stepped back, or otherwise showed a distinct lack of backbone in his presence. All, that is, except for one.

He was standing stiffly at attention in the second row of pilots, holding his helmet at his side like the rest of his comrades and watching Branok and Thrawn with apparent interest. His light brown hair was just within regulation length, and a few stray strands had fallen near his eyes. He gave a quick twitch of his head to shake the strands away, and as he did, Thrawn caught the shorter man's gaze. His eyes were a deep, clear blue, and they sparkled in the bright lights overhead. The contact lasted for just a moment, but it was enough. Thrawn felt as though he had been punched in the gut, but he managed to recover himself before anyone noticed any problem. Quickly looking away from the blue-eyed pilot, he followed Branok through the rest of the inspection.

"Lieutenant, are you paying attention to a word I'm saying?"

Thrawn snapped his head around to stare at Branok, who was frowning at his new subordinate officer. _Oh no…recover, Thrawn, now! _

"My apologies, sir. I was just contemplating the crew. You seem to have an excellent group here," he said, barely managing to keep from wincing. Yes, they had a lot of potential, but they needed a lot of work. But now, when Branok looked rather perturbed if not downright angry, was hardly the time to bring that up.

Branok leered at Thrawn. "Yes, they are an excellent crew. The finest in the Fleet, if I do say so myself." His expression became smug as he spoke, but the fire in his eyes suggested a slow and painful death for Thrawn should he say anything to the contrary.

"Incidentally, Lieutenant, you'll be meeting the best of them tonight at dinner. I expect you'll enjoy that."

"Of course, sir," Thrawn replied smoothly, if somewhat distantly. For while his body was marching down the corridor beside the Admiral, his mind was still back in the mess hall, pondering the blue-eyed pilot. _You're being stupid, Thrawn. There are 35,000 men and women on this ship, and he's pilot. The chances you'll ever see him again are somewhere between slim and none. Put him out of your mind_.

He only wished that forgetting the pilot was an easy thing to do.

Tycho allowed himself a confused blink as the blue Lieutenant followed Branok down the line. _Ok, what was that all about?_

He hadn't really been paying much attention to what was going on. Bored out of his mind by yet another useless exercise, he had been more concerned with getting his hair out of his face than anything else. Being a pilot had its perks, one of which was the ability to get away with just-barely-legal hair. But his hair had a tendency to misbehave at all the worst times -- like when he was standing at attention. He decided to risk a quick toss of his head in the hopes that it would remedy the problem --

-- and instead found himself staring right into a pair of glowing red eyes.

Though the gaze lasted for barely a moment, it was like…being hit by lighting. Or sticking your finger in a socket. Or getting zapped by an over-powered R2 unit. Tycho felt a jolt run through is body that he couldn't explain. There was something special about the Lieutenant, there had to be. Tycho didn't react like that to just anybody.

Finally, the inspection was over and they were all free to go. The neat ranks and rows quickly disintegrated as people headed for the nearest exits, eager to get back to their normal routines. Tycho was just turning to leave when he felt a hand on his elbow holding him back. He turned, to see Idris grinning at him.

"What are you doing?" he asked the other pilot.

Idris grinned more, showing off his perfect teeth. "What was that all about?"

The Alderaanian pilot gave his friend a blank look. "What was what all about?"

"Don't give me that," Idris said, his large, dark eyes sparkling with glee. "Maybe everyone else missed that little jump of yours, but not me. You like those red eyes, admit it."

Tycho glared at Idris, struggling not to blush. "Yeah, well, even if I do, he's totally out of my league. I mean, he's the new Lieutenant. And I have to go…there's work to be done around here."

He had almost gotten free of the mess hall when Branok's Major, a gangly man whose face seemed permanently twisted into a sneer, caught up with him. "Flight Officer Celchu, you're required to report to the officers' mess for dinner at 18:00 sharp. Make sure your dress uniform is fresh, you want to make a good impression." Then he turned and vanished into the crowd, searching for someone else. Tycho pondered this strange order for a moment, then shrugged and began the journey back to his quarters.


	2. Chapter 2

**Remember people, it's slash.** Don't like it? Don't read it. Otherwise, review away!

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**Chapter 2**

Tycho made one final adjustment to his appearance in the mirror, then, deciding that his hair was behaving as well as could be expected, he turned to his three roommates. Idris was lounging in the corner, booted feet resting on a partially-pulled-out drawer. Thelion, Idris's bunkmate, was typing out a letter to his family on his data pad. Hakon, Tycho's bunkmate, was snoozing in the top bunk. He rolled his eyes at Hakon as Thelion and Idris both studied him.

Idris nodded his approval of Tycho's appearance. "Well, you're all set to go. Have fun," he said, giving his friend a distinctly mischievous grin.

Tycho nodded and waved at his roommates as he left, heading up towards the officers' mess. He only had a vague idea of where said mess was, and that only because he had checked the maps earlier in the day. His hands shook with nervousness as he strode through the mostly-empty corridors. Clenching them into fists to stop the shaking, Tycho shook his head in frustration. _I'm just nervous because I'll be eating with all the officers _he told himself.

But even as he thought it, he knew it wasn't the complete truth. Tycho had told Idris about the dinner, and after a thorough discussion they had agreed that the new Lieutenant would be there. Idris suspected that the whole thing was being staged specifically for the alien's benefit, pointing out that common pilots and soldiers were never allowed to eat in the officers' mess. _I really don't want to spend the entire dinner gaping at the Lieutenant like an idio._ For as much as Tycho didn't really want to admit it, there was something very attractive about the blue-skinned young man who had joined their crew so recently.

He finally arrived at the entrance to the officers' mess, to see a small group of people gathered in the hallway outside. Tycho appeared to be the only pilot invited, as none of the others were at all familiar and Tycho spent most of his time with his fellow pilots. Still, some of those gathered gave him a friendly nod, which he returned.

Moments later, the officers' mess door slid open and the Major who had given Tycho his orders for the evening stepped into the corridor. He ushered the waiting troops into the mess, then moved to stand at attention beside the Captain. Branok smiled at the small group before him, then turned to the blue-skinned alien standing a short way down the table. "Lieutenant Thrawn, it is my pleasure to introduce to you the best of the best, the top troops of the _Accuser_."

At which point Tycho found it impossible to concentrate, for the Captain and the Lieutenant had both come around the table to greet each trooper in turn. Which meant shaking the Lieutenant's hand. And talking to him. And looking somewhat intelligent, which Tycho wasn't really sure was possible around…what was his name? Thrawn, that was it. _Snap out of it, Celchu, what is wrong with you?_

"…and this is Flight Officer Tycho Celchu. He's a recent graduate of our academy on Carrida, graduated at the top of his class."

And there was Thrawn, a small smile playing across his lips as he held out his hand for Tycho. The shorter man took Thrawn's hand and shook it, struggling to not blush and noticing that Thrawn's cheeks had taken on a slightly purple tinge. "It's an honor, Lieutenant," Tycho said.

"The honor is mine, Flight Officer Celchu," Thrawn replied, his cultured voice sending shivers down Tycho's spine. He was less than thrilled when the handshake finally ended, and even more unhappy to discover that his assigned seat at the table had him about as far from Thrawn as it was possible to be. And though the little voices in his head kept telling him that he was being insanely unrealistic in his attraction to Thrawn, he was getting much better at ignoring those voices as the evening wore on.

Somehow, he managed to make pleasant and intelligent conversation all evening, though most of his attention went to stealing surreptitious glances at the handsome blue officer seated on the opposite side of the table. He always managed to look away before Thrawn caught him, for which he was grateful. The last thing he needed was to be caught ogling the new Lieutenant.

It wasn't until the middle of the dessert course that he though ogling Thrawn might not be such a bad idea. He looked up from his bowl of fruit and cream to see Thrawn staring straight at him. The Lieutenant looked away quickly once he noticed Tycho staring back, though Tycho suspected he had been watching unnoticed for quite sometime. Tycho ignored the rest of his dessert after that -- he was far too giddy to eat any more.

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Thrawn allowed himself a small smile as he contemplated the blue-eyed pilot. _Tycho Celchu. Good name, it suits him._ He was, however, annoyed with himself for actually blushing while greeting Tycho. Thrawn was a Chiss, and Chiss simply didn't show their emotions like that, except in private.

Throughout dinner, we would let his eyes rove over the table, stopping on Tycho for just a moment longer than usual. As they began dessert, though, he found himself staring. Tycho had turned to talk to the man beside him, and Thrawn couldn't help but admire the way the light caught in his light-brown hair and shone off his pale skin. Thrawn didn't realize how long he's been watching the other man until Tycho looked up from his dessert and stared straight at Thrawn, who quickly looked away. _Too late Thrawn, he caught you watching_.

When dinner ended just ten minutes later, Thrawn watched Tycho make his way to the door. _ And that, friend, is that. On a ship this size, you'll never see him again._

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Tycho rolled over and glared at the evil red numbers glowing just above the top of his bedside table. It was almost one in the morning, and he couldn't get to sleep. Finally resigning himself to his fate, he climbed out of bed as quietly as he could. He found his uniform pants and shirt hanging over the back of his chair, waiting to be sent to the laundry later that morning, and quickly pulled them on. He felt around by the door until he found his boots, which he carried outside and slipped on in the hallway so as not to awaken his roommates. Satisfied that he looked reasonably presentable, if not completely within the bounds of regulation, Tycho went in search of the kitchens.

He finally found them, one level down from the main mess hall. He planned on going in, rummaging around until he found something vaguely appealing, and leaving. He didn't plan on running into anyone else. Not at this time of night.

Which was one reason why he stopped cold in the kitchen doorway when he saw another person there.

There was the new Lieutenant. Though he was turned towards the door, it was obvious his attention was elsewhere. Thrawn was leaning back against the nearest counter, staring off into space and absent-mindedly munching a cookie. A half-full glass of blue milk perched on the counter near his left hand, which was curled around the edge of the counter. His eyes glowed brightly in the dim light.

Tycho, however, was too preoccupied with the rest of Thrawn to really notice any of this. The taller man was wearing nothing but black boxers and a tight black t-shirt that flaunted his perfect physique in ways that Tycho thought should be made illegal. Having grown up on Alderaan, he had seen more than enough attractive men and women to last a lifetime. He had never seen anyone as perfect as the man standing before him.

"Uh…"

Thrawn's head snapped around to face Tycho, fixing him with a glare that would have put Darth Vader to shame. Tycho took an involuntary step back at that, and was just about to salute when Thrawn's expression softened into a smile. "Flight Officer Celchu, isn't it?" he asked.

Tycho just nodded, mouth dry.

Thrawn raised one prefect eyebrow. "Looking for a midnight snack, Officer Celchu?"

Finally managing to pull himself together, Tycho replied, "Yes, sir. I can leave if you want me to, and come back later." He tried to ignore the little voices in his head, which had promptly begun shouting that he was insane to offer to leave.

But the Lieutenant just studied Tycho for a moment, then motioned for him to come closer. When Tycho had obeyed he picked up a package of cookies from the counter and offered it to the pilot. The two stood leaning against the counter and munching in silence for several minutes. _No, Thrawn doesn't munch, he nibbles_, Tycho decided.

It took him a few seconds to register the fact that Thrawn was studying him, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Is something wrong, sir?" he asked.

Thrawn's small smile turned into a grin. "I was just about to ask you the same thing, since you keep stealing glances at me," he replied dryly.

For what seemed like the hundredth time that day, Tycho found himself fighting a loosing battle against blushing. Thrawn seemed to notice that, which only made him grin even more. "I…well…erm…yeah…" Tycho mumbled, refusing to meet the taller man's gaze.

They stood in silence for a few more minutes, sharing a silent midnight snack. Then Thrawn turned to Tycho and asked, "Are you from Alderaan?"

Tycho looked up, surprised. "Yeah, how did you know?"

"Your accent. They try to beat accents out of the students at Carrida, but you still have yours." He paused for a second, as though considering what to say next, then added, "I've always like the Alderaanian accent. It's like music."

Tycho blinked up at Thrawn for a moment, wondering what sort of response he should make to that compliment. He felt he had come up with a reasonable answer, but before he got the chance to say anything, Thrawn turned a deep shade of purple, murmured, "Excuse me," and slipped from the kitchen. The Alderaanian just stood there for a moment, a half-eaten cookie forgotten in his hand. Finally, he came to his senses enough to clean up the cookies and Thrawn's glass and to return to his own bed.

Once back in his own room, he crawled into bed, hoping not to awaken anyone else. Just before drifting off to sleep, he let the end of his short conversation with Thrawn take over his thoughts. A small smile spread over his face and he was finally able to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Third chapter up! As usual, folks, **mind the rating** (M) and the stuff I wrote in the summary, it's all there for a reason. Enjoy! Please review!

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Chapter 3**

Later that week, Tycho snuck back into his quarters and crawled into bed as silently as he could. The night after his first conversation with Thrawn, he had decided to take the chance and go to the kitchens for a midnight snack again. And sure enough, Thrawn had been there, drinking his milk and nibbling his cookies just as he had the night before. They had both been much less shy after realizing that neither had been permanently mortified by the previous night's events, and had wound up having a very long conversation about anything and everything that came to mind. They wound up going back to their beds at four in the morning, with the result that they were thoroughly exhausted the next day. Thrawn showed up at their midnight-snack meeting that night with two packets of tea he swore would knock them both out and keep them that way for hours. That was a short meeting -- they mixed their cups of tea and went to bed. Tycho discovered that Thrawn was right about the tea when he woke up in the med center, a frantic Idris, Thelion, and Hakon hovering around debating whether or not their roommate had fallen into a coma. That night's midnight meeting had involved Thrawn interrogating Tycho about how he felt and making sure he wasn't suffering any ill effects from herbs that had turned out to be too strong for the human system to handle. Tycho found Thrawn's obvious concern to be rather endearing, since he rarely got that from anyone but his own family. The next two evenings had been uneventful, though filled with good conversation. And that just left tonight.

Thrawn had arrived a few minutes after Tycho, bearing a small box wrapped in plain brown paper. Tycho eyed the box warily, wondering what strong natural remedy Thrawn was going to give him this time. "What's in the box?"

"Food from home," Thrawn replied, tearing the paper off the box and tossing a small bag of brightly-colored candy to Tycho. "It's probably not as sweet as you're used to, but you might still like it."

They spent the rest of the evening at one of the small tables scattered around the kitchen, sampling the candies, cakes, and cookies Thrawn's father had sent from home. Tycho particularly liked the fruit candy, which tasted less sugary and much fruitier than anything he'd ever had before. Thrawn gave him one of the bags full of candy, along with a small package of chocolate cookies and a white cake with fruit jam between the layers. Finally, at almost three in the morning, Tycho gathered his stash of food and stood to leave. He watched Thrawn packing up the last of his treats, wondering how long they could keep up these little nighttime meetings without completely exhausting themselves. If only there was some other way for them to meet…

And then the idea hit him. _You're brilliant, Celchu, absolutely brilliant! _

"Hey Thrawn"

"Hmm?" Thrawn glanced up from where he was trying to make a half-eaten box of cookies stay closed.

Taking a deep breath, trying to sound casual, and hoping he wasn't about to totally ruin his friendship with Thrawn, Tycho said, "We have a one-day shore leave coming up in two days. Did you have anything planned?"

Thrawn shook his head. "No, not really, why?"

"Want to have lunch with me?"

They stared at each other for a moment, Thrawn opening and closing his mouth a few times in bewilderment. Tycho was just about to tell him to forget it, they could meet some other time, when Thrawn said, "Ok…I'll meet you at the spaceport after we land."

Tycho grinned and waved as he left the kitchen, vaguely wondering if it was possible for a human to fly on his own -- he certainly felt like it might be possible now.

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Two days later, Tycho stood by at the edge of the Imperial landing platform at the spaceport, trying not to look nervous. Idris hadn't helped matters much by teasing him incessantly since he'd told his roommates about lunch with Thrawn. Indeed, Tycho would have felt much less nervous had Idris told him he was a fool for hoping that anything could happen with Thrawn. At least then there would have been a small part of his own mind that agreed.

He looked up at the sound of a _Lambda_-class shuttle coming in for a landing. It seemed that Thrawn and the other officers had finally arrived. The shuttle landed and lowered its ramp, releasing the small group of officers to go about their business. Branok emerged first, waving his hands animatedly as he chatted with the sneering Major, who obviously was anything but thrilled to be taking a day of shore leave. Next came several officers Tycho didn't know. Then finally, alone at the back of the group, came Thrawn. Tycho stared at the tall alien, then nervously ran a hand through his own hair. He felt distinctly dull and disheveled compared to the sight before him.

Thrawn wore perfectly polished black boots that came almost to his knees. His just-tight-enough khaki pants made a nice contrast to the green tunic he wore, which shimmered in the light. The cuffs and hems sparkled, and Tycho suspected there was something on them he couldn't see. Thrawn's blue-black hair was slicked back, as usual, and Tycho found that bit of familiarity reassuring. Thrawn looked around, then grinned and waved when he saw Tycho, who just about melted as Thrawn approached.

"And here I thought I'd have to search for you," Thrawn said, stopping in front of Tycho.

Tycho shook his head. "Nah, I knew we'd land first, I figured it'd be easier for me to hang around and wait for you. So…um…shall we go?"

They spent the next two hours wandering aimlessly about the city, talking and laughing as they went. They finally stopped for lunch at a small café in the city's cultural center, where Thrawn was particularly excited to find that he was actually familiar with several of the items on the menu. It turned out that the "exotic" dishes the café advertised were actually fairly common in the Outer Rim.

"That's the problem with the terminology here," Thrawn declared after ordering one of each of the dishes. "To those of us who live there, that's the center of our universe. There are no Unknown Regions and the food isn't exotic, it's just our home and our food."

Tycho laughed. "Did you take any of the classes on the Outer Rim territories when you were at the Imperial Academy?"

Thrawn leaned forward and fixed Tycho with a piercing gaze. "I did better than that. I had to take Theories of Empire, and I damn near re-wrote the book for it too." When Tycho looked blank, Thrawn continued, "See, we had to write a paper applying what we had learned to a planetary or system government we didn't study, so I wrote a comparison of the Galactic Empire and my people's Empire. No one believed that this style of Empire existed in the Rim until I wrote my paper."

Tycho nodded, suitably impressed. "Were you involved in government at home then?"

Thrawn nodded. "To a point. My extended family is mostly concerned with military matters, but my branch of the family is also highly ranked in the government. I wound up learning quite a bit about both from my parents, though I did specialize in military matters when I attended the Royal Academy. What about you?"

"My father is the CEO of Novacom. It's the largest HoloNet provider on Alderaan." Tycho glanced at the serving droid as it approached their table, bearing a tray laden with food. "I think my family expected me to go into economics or business, but I wanted to fly too much."

"Are they unhappy with your choice?"

Tycho pondered that for a moment. "No…I think they'd like me to have a job with a lower potential mortality rate, but they're glad I'm happy."

They filled their plates with food then, Thrawn obviously happy to have the chance to eat something familiar for a change. Tycho was pleasantly surprised with the food, though he found the soup far too spicy and was unable to eat more than a few spoonfulls of it. Thrawn, however, seemed completely unfazed by the soup's spiciness, and wound up eating all of it.

They had just finished eating when Tycho noticed that Thrawn wasn't looking at him, but rather was looking past him. "What?" he asked, turning to study the area behind him.

"Do you like art?" Thrawn asked.

Tycho shrugged. "Sure, I guess. Why?"

"Well, there's an art museum right over there. Mind if we take a look around?"

Tycho drained his glass of water, then nodded. "Lead on, Thrawn."

They spent the next several hours roaming the halls of the museum, Thrawn looking very much like a kid in a candy store the whole time. He kept up a constant stream of information and comments as they strolled. Tycho found himself amazed at Thrawn's obvious level of knowledge about and love for the subject. They stopped before one particular old-style painting, one depicting a popular scene from old Corellian mythology. Thrawn smiled. "This is my absolute favorite painting. I've loved it since I was small."

Tycho leaned forward to read the small sign at the bottom of the painting. There, below the name of the painting and it's date, was a small note indicating that this was a replica. The origins of the original, it seemed, were unknown.

"This isn't the original," Tycho said, pointing to the sign.

"Well of course it isn't, the original is in a private collection," Thrawn replied mater-of-factly.

Tycho blinked at him. "How do you know?"

Thrawn suddenly looked a little shy, refusing to meet Tycho's eyes as he spoke. "Erm, well, because it's been hanging on the wall across from my bed back home since the day I was born."

Tycho stared. _His family must be insanely wealthy to be able to afford the original of such a well-known painting. _ "That's amazing, you must be proud," he said.

Thrawn nodded. "We don't have a very large collection, but what we do have is very high-quality, all originals, and all in perfect condition. That must be why I love art so much, I grew up surrounded by the best of it."

"Well, now I know what to get you for Life Day," Tycho teased. Thrawn just grinned, finally meeting Tycho's eyes again. They stood there for a moment, just looking at each other, before Thrawn tore his eyes away from Tycho's and continued on to the next painting.

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Over the next few weeks, Thrawn and Tycho found themselves spending as much time together as they could manage. They would often take their midnight snacks back to Thrawn's private quarters, where they were much less likely to be interrupted. The only downside to this was that Tycho had to spend a lot of energy fighting the urge to kiss Thrawn. He had long ago given up fighting his attraction for the man, and had even decided that the attraction was mutual. Even so, Thrawn was still his superior officer, and he had so far acted extremely shy about being anything but Tycho's friend. To Tycho's knowledge, Thrawn had very few other friends on board the _Accuser. _

Tycho sighed as he headed to the gym. Working out in the gym was his least favorite way to exercise, but being stuck on a Star Destroyer really limited his options. And so, it was with great annoyance and a determination to end his workout as quickly as possible that he headed to the gym. Somehow, he was less than surprised to find Thrawn already there. After all, Thrawn had to maintain his perfect body somehow.

What did surprise Tycho was that Thrawn wasn't using any of the various machines scattered throughout the gym, but rather seemed to be going through a series of martial arts stances. Tycho stood and watched for a few minutes, until Thrawn noticed him in the mirror. He smiled, turning to face Tycho. "I thought you hated the gym," he said, raising one eyebrow as he studied his friend.

Tycho shrugged. "It's really the only way to keep in shape around here." With that, he dropped his towel and settled into a few warm-up stretches. He was soon distracted, however, by the sound of something whistling through the air. Looking up, he noticed that Thrawn was once again practicing his stances. This time, however, he held a narrow-bladed sword in each hand, and he was going through his paces so quickly that the swords were mere blurs. Once again, he noticed Tycho watching and once again he stopped his exercises.

"Yes?"

"How long have you been doing that?"

Thrawn though for a moment. "Well…I started when I was five, and I'm nineteen now…so fourteen years."

Tycho nodded. "Yeah, that would explain it. You must be at a pretty high level by now."

"I'm a Master," Thrawn replied, his mouth twitching as he fought a smile. When Tycho didn't say anything else but instead continued ogling the swords, Thrawn said, "I can teach you some if you want. Nothing with blades yet, but we could do some basic stances and such." Tycho grinned and nodded, then followed Thrawn into one of the sparring rooms just off the main gym.

Over the next few weeks, Tycho gained a whole new respect for martial arts practitioners in general, and for Thrawn and his people in particular. As Tycho got more used to the stances and to moving from one stance to another, he decided that it was very much like dancing. Thrawn's sheer agility and grace absolutely astounded him, and only contributed to his feeling that this was indeed a very artistic martial art. Finally, Thrawn decided that Tycho was ready to spar.

"Now, I imagine that sparring and piloting have a bit in common. You have to focus on what you're doing, of course, but you also have to pay attention to what the other person is doing and try to anticipate what he's going to do next. If you manage to do that, you won't get pinned, hit, or killed. If not…well, you get the picture. So, start with the basic defensive stance…"

Tycho had barely settled into the stance when Thrawn attacked. Even though he was sure the other man was going easy on him, Tycho barely managed to block Thrawn's blows. He didn't even notice that Thrawn was herding him anywhere until he found himself pinned against the wall. Thrawn stared at him for a moment, the backed up and motioned for Tycho to step forward. "See what I mean? You didn't even notice what I was doing. If this had been a street fight you'd be dead, and if had been a competition you would've lost. Your form was excellent, though, so this time just try to pay attention to where I'm trying to make you go, and don't let me do it."

Tycho nodded, settling into the basic defensive stance again, and once again Thrawn attacked. This went on for about an hour, with Thrawn stopping after each round to comment on Tycho's performance. By the third round, Tycho was able to keep Thrawn from herding him into the wall, and Thrawn had taken to tackling him to the ground instead. Tycho was completely unable to find a way to stop that._ Oh, come on Celchu, don't kid yourself. You like it when he does that!_

Finally, after another half hour of sparring, Thrawn declared that they would quit after one more round. This turned out to be their longest round yet, as Tycho decided to go on the offensive first. Thrawn was so surprised by this that he spent the first few seconds recovering, during which time Tycho actually managed to drive him towards the nearest corner. But Thrawn saw what Tycho was up to, and as Tycho aimed a high kick at Thrawn's side the other man dropped and rolled under it, coming up behind him. Tycho swung around so that he was facing Thrawn, which resulted in Tycho being pinned on his back beneath Thrawn.

They stared at each other for a long time, both breathing hard, though Tycho suspected that this had to do with more than just their workout. With his gaze locked on Thrawn's, Tycho reached up and slowly brushed his fingers over Thrawn's cheek. Thrawn closed his eyes as a shiver shook his entire body. Tycho placed his hands on Thrawn's shoulders, intending to draw him closer, but that touch seemed to bring Thrawn back to his senses. He rolled off of Tycho and stood, then fled from the sparring room. Tycho stared after him, feeling helpless and confused.


	4. Chapter 4

Good skies, I'm so sappy :p. But this was a fun chapter to write. Contains hot men kissing (this _is_ slash, remember?). Reviews welcome!

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**Chapter 4**

Thrawn managed to avoid Tycho for the next two weeks, not showing up for any of their usual meetings or even returning any of the message Tycho left on his private comlink. Tycho was, in fact, beginning to think that he had completely misread Thrawn's actions since their first meeting, and that he had managed to completely drive his friend away. And so, he had taken to moping about in his quarters, refusing to answer his concerned roommates' questions with more than a word or two, and trying resolutely to put Thrawn from his mind once and for all.

"You know what you need to do?" Idris finally said to him the day before they left for their respective Life Day holidays. "You need to go out, find yourself a really great outfit, and find yourself a date when you go to that huge party you got invited to."

"But I'm not interested in going with anyone," Tycho replied, looking perplexed.

Idris shook his head. "You don't have to go _with_ someone, you find someone _there_."

And so Tycho glowered and grumbled, but in the end he decided that it wouldn't hurt to take Idris's advice about his clothes. And so, after arriving on Alderaan and having dinner with his family, he headed out in search of some new clothes. It didn't take him long to find a suitable new outfit -- a pair of black pants that he could tuck into his tall black boots and a deep blue tunic covered in delicate silver embroidery. The tunic came with a knee-length silver cape held in place on the right shoulder with an ornate silver brooch sprinkled with blue gems. It was the perfect outfit for the big Life Day party at the Reydyn family's mansion.

The next night, Tycho and his family arrived at the manor at eight o'clock sharp. Tycho stared around at the decorations covering what seemed to be every spare inch of the already ornate manor house. Scattered about were pieces of art that he normally would have ignored, but that now reminded him of Thrawn. _He would've loved it here_.

He soon found himself in the large ballroom, which was already full of people talking, dancing, drinking, and sampling the fancy cakes laid out on the long table near the large, solid wood double doors into the room. The ballroom itself looked out on the gardens, which had also been decorated just for the party. The bushes and trees nearest the large picture windows were covered in tiny white lights that, when combined with the clear, star-filled sky overhead, made it seem as though the room was floating freely in space. The weather was surprisingly warm for the season, and the ballroom doors were wide open to let some fresh air in and to give people the chance to stroll in the gardens if they wished.

Tycho's eyes soon settled on a group of his old school friends, huddled in a corner and waving merrily at Tycho. He grinned and headed over to join them, eager to hear the latest news of home that he hadn't yet been able to catch up with since arriving the night before. His friends too, it seemed, were eager to hear all of his news.

A little over an hour later, the lights had been dimmed and the band was playing a slow waltz. Tycho smiled a little as he watched his younger brother dancing with a girl from school. But the smile soon faded as images of the time he had spent with Thrawn rose unbidden to the front of his mind. Had it really only been two weeks ago that he had managed to scare Thrawn away like that? It seemed like just yesterday. In fact, he could still see Thrawn's glowing red eyes, staring at him from across the room…

Tycho frowned and stared hard at the small knot of people on the other side of the room from him. There was Sorryn Reydyn, the wealthy merchant, his wife, a few of their friends…and Thrawn. Or at least, he thought it was Thrawn, it was hard to tell in this light.

He was just about to go over to Sorryn's table when the red-eyed man stood and swept from the room, into the gardens. Tycho, not even bothering to tell his friends where he was going, stood and followed.

It didn't take him long to find the Chiss, sitting in the center of the garden and staring at the large water fountain. It was indeed Thrawn -- Tycho would recognize the back of his head anywhere. Tycho stood there for a moment, watching Thrawn and trying to get a grip on the whirlwind of emotions flooding through him. Finally, feeling that he was as calm as he was ever going to get, he coughed.

Thrawn snapped around as though the cough had been a blaster shot, his eyes landing on Tycho almost instantly. He stood, and Tycho's self-control nearly vanished. Thrawn was wearing a long white cape that, from the back, hid the rest of his outfit. But when he stood, Tycho could see the loosely-closed white shirt and the dark-green kilt that showed off Thrawn's incredible legs. His hair, usually slicked back, looked much more natural, though still very neat. They stared at each other nervously for a moment, then Tycho said, "You're been avoiding me."

Thrawn nodded. "I'm sorry, Tycho, I'm just…so confused…"

Tycho frowned, tilting his head to the side. "About what?"

Thrawn looked down at the ground, refusing to meet Tycho's eyes. "About…everything. About us. About how I feel for you, and about what happened two weeks ago."

Before Tycho knew what he was doing, he found himself standing in front of Thrawn and trying to stare into the other's eyes. Thrawn, however, kept avoiding his gaze. Tycho finally reached out and touched Thrawn's cheek. That got the taller man's attention, and he finally looked right at Tycho.  
"Listen, Thrawn. I've been confused too. But avoiding the issue won't fix it or make it go away."

Thrawn shook his head and sat back down. "You don't understand, Tycho. I have…a bad history with relationships. I've never had a very serious one, and they've all ended badly." He paused for a moment, fiddling with the edge of his cape. "I don't want to be hurt again…"

Tycho sat next to him, taking his hands and studying him intently. "Thrawn, look at me. Please." Thrawn did, and Tycho continued, "I don't know what those other people did to you, but I can promise you that I would never, ever hurt you, not on purpose. Do you believe me?"

Thrawn gave him a small smile. "Yes, actually I do."

"Then you should also know that I've been attracted to you since the day I met you. I can't tell you how happy I was when I went to the kitchens that night and you were there. I was even happier when we became friends, and I felt like the luckiest man alive when you agreed to come to lunch with me that day. I want to get to know you even better. I want to spend more time with you." He hesitated, then said, "I want you to be happy, like you were that day in the museum. I've never seen you so happy. I want to see you like that again, and I want it to be because of me."

Thrawn stared at Tycho, as though he couldn't believe what Tycho was saying. Even so, the look on his face said he wanted to believe that every word of it was true. "Tycho…you mean that?"

"Of course I mean that! I wouldn't lie to you about something this important."

Thrawn just stared at him some more, hardly daring to believe what he was hearing. It was everything he had ever wanted to hear out of Tycho, and then some. "Tycho, I don't know what to say to you…"

Tycho silenced him with a finger over his lips. "Then don't say anything."

They gazed into each other's eyes for one long moment, then Tycho leaned in just an inch. Thrawn didn't move, just kept his eyes on Tycho. Tycho, in turn, let his eyes dart to Thrawn's lips, then back to the other's eye. Thrawn seemed to understand, for he gave a small nod. Moments later, their lips met.

Thrawn's touch was electric, and Tycho couldn't get enough of it. He wrapped his arms around Thrawn's neck, feeling the other's arms tighten around his waist. He finally broke the kiss, looking hopefully into Thrawn's eyes. Thrawn looked slightly dazed, but he blinked and smiled at Tycho. The smile quickly turned mischievous as he leaned in for yet another kiss…and another…and another…

Tycho completely lost track of time, sitting out there in the garden with Thrawn. They finally broke apart at the sound of footsteps approaching on the garden path. Thrawn was biting his own lip, grinning broadly, and Tycho was struggling to control his breathing, when his younger brother's voice called out from somewhere behind them.

"Tycho? Dad says it's time to go."

"Ok, I'm coming," Tycho said. "Tell him I'll be right there." Turning to Thrawn as the footsteps faded into the night once again, he asked, "Where are you staying?"

"Here," Thrawn replied. "The Reydyns are old family friends. I'll tell you the story sometime," he said when Tycho gave him a startled look, "but you should go before someone else comes looking for you."

Tycho nodded. "I have two more days here before going back to the ship. Will I see you before we have to leave?"

Thrawn gave him a mischievous smile. "Of course, Tycho."

With that, Tycho gave Thrawn one last quick kiss. "I'll come by for you tomorrow then," he said, and disappeared into the night. Thrawn watched him going, finally feeling like something was going his way.


	5. Chapter 5

Finally getting around to updating this! Have fun reading!**  
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**Chapter 5**

The next night, Tycho managed to convince Thrawn to come to dinner at the Celchu family home. Tycho tried to convince him to wear the kilt again, but Thrawn insisted on wearing pants. "They'll have enough to get used to about me without me showing up in a kilt," he had pointed out. Tycho continued grumbling until Thrawn promised to wear the kilt for him later. Thrawn then shut Tycho out of his room so he could get changed. As they left the Reydyn mansion, Thrawn left a note for Sorryn explaining that he would be spending the night with a friend.

They arrived at the Celchu house a short time later, to be greeted by Tycho's younger brother, who gave the pair a knowing look as he led them into the house. "What exactly did he see last night?" Thrawn murmured.

Tycho blushed. "Um, quite a bit apparently, but he only told my parents I was with a friend. Said he wanted us to have the pleasure of announcing our relationship."

"Ah," Thrawn replied, imagining what his own siblings would have done if they had found him in a garden kissing a human. "So they don't know about us yet?"

Tycho shrugged. "I've told them a lot about you, and I told them you're coming over for dinner tonight. I'm pretty sure they know something's up. What about you, have you told your family?"

Thrawn shook his head. "I'm writing a letter home tonight though, they'll hear all about it then."

Thrawn followed Tycho into the house's foyer, where Tycho's parents and sisters were waiting to greet them. The girls began whispering amongst themselves, giving Thrawn decidedly predatory looks. Tycho noticed this too, and after hugging his parents he quietly slipped his hand into Thrawn's and gave it a squeeze. Thrawn squeezed back, though he knew there was no use trying to hide his nervousness from Tycho. The sisters noticed, and they gave their older brother startled looks. Tycho's brother just gave a small nod as a knowing smile appeared on his features.

"Thrawn, this is my family -- mom, dad, brother Skoloc, and sisters Emrys and Aderyn. Everyone, this is Thrawn -- my boyfriend."

Thrawn wasn't really sure what sort of reaction he'd been expecting. Out here, in the Galactic Empire, he supposed he had expected an argument, or at least some puzzled looks. But while Emrys and Aderyn looked disappointed that Thrawn was spoken for, Tycho's parents seemed positively thrilled. His mother gave Thrawn a hug, while his father shook Thrawn's hand and clapped him on the shoulder. "It's about time we get to meet you, Tycho hasn't stopped talking about you for weeks!" he exclaimed.

A short time later, dinner was ready. Tycho sat beside Thrawn, eating quietly and enjoying listening to his father and his boyfriend discussing the most recent new Imperial policies. Thrawn, it turned out, was an incredibly eloquent debater. Even Tycho's father, who had won several debate awards throughout his education and could still hold his own even against politicians, seem impressed with Thrawn's skills. Tycho had the feeling that many a being had died a painful debating death against Thrawn and allowed himself a small, proud smile.

After dinner, the family and Thrawn moved to the large and well-appointed sitting room, where Skoloc made the mistake of challenging Thrawn to a game of Dejarik. Thrawn lost the first game, though the way his glowing eyes seemed to sparkle told Tycho he had lost on purpose. After Skoloc won the next game too, he asked if Thrawn had ever even played Dejarik. Thrawn cocked an eyebrow at him. "Finding this too easy?" he asked.

"Well…" Skoloc said, obviously wanting to say yes but being too shy to do so.

"Very well, then. One more game, and then we can stop if you wish"  
Skoloc nodded eagerly, hitting the board's reset button. The family spent the next few hours watching Thrawn beat Skoloc, Aderyn, Emrys, and Tycho with ease. Tycho's father proved a more formidable opponent, and the two finally called a draw so that everyone could go to bed. Thrawn stood and stretched, then grabbed his small overnight bag and followed Tycho upstairs.

Tycho stopped outside the door to his own room and turned to Thrawn. "Erm…I had thought, maybe…you could stay in my room with me…but it's ok if you don't want to, we have an extra room…"

Thrawn pondered this for a moment. "Alright, but no sex yet…I'm not ready for that Tycho."

Tycho grinned and shook his head. "That's ok, I didn't think you would be anyway. C'mon, I'm tired." Tycho pushed open the door and Thrawn followed him inside. He was happy to notice that Tycho's bed was more than large enough for the two of them.

Tycho disappeared into the refresher across the hall while Thrawn changed into his black boxers and t-shirt, then pulled out his data pad, curled up on the bed, and began a letter to his family. Tycho returned moments later and crawled into bed beside Thrawn, peeking over his shoulder at the letter. At first, he was surprised that Thrawn didn't try to stop him. Once he realized that Thrawn was writing in a totally different language, he realized that such a telling-off would hardly be necessary. Tycho watched Thrawn writing for several minutes, until Thrawn finished the letter and saved it to a datacard to send home when they got back to the _Accuser_. Setting the card and pad down on Tycho's nightstand, he gently rested his head on Tycho's shoulder and draped his arm across Tycho's stomach. Tycho grinned, wrapping his own arms around Thrawn and rubbing the other man's shoulder. Thrawn looked up and smiled, then gave Tycho a tender kiss before settling his head back on Tycho's shoulder. Within minutes, the two had fallen asleep.

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The next several weeks passed rather like this, with Tycho and Thrawn taking turns staying in each other's quarters. Idris, Thelion, and Hakon were very good-natured about it all, though they couldn't help teasing the couple every so often. One night, as Tycho and Thrawn sat curled on Tycho's bunk cuddling and feeding each other ice cream, Idris could be heard grumbling about sicky-sweetness and the two getting their own room. Tycho rolled his eyes and gave Thrawn a slightly exasperated look, while Thrawn turned and pinned Idris with a glare that would have made most subordinates cower. Idris, however, was used to Thrawn's glares by now, and merely laughed. A few minutes later Thrawn got up to find the refresher. As soon as he left, the other three turned on Tycho.

"Well? Have you yet?" Idris asked.

Tycho scowled. "Have we what yet?"

Thelion and Hakon shook their heads at Tycho's apparent denseness, while Idris continued, "Oh, come _on_ Tycho, you know what I'm talking about. Have you had sex yet? I know you sleep in each other's beds all the time."

Tycho looked appalled. "No, and even if we had, I wouldn't tell you!"

Idris laughed, while Thelion sat down beside Tycho. "He's been dying to ask that ever since you came out to us you know," he said softly. "But really, Tycho, you two are so serious! Do you two have any plans for anything?"

"Why would we? We're happy as we are."

Thelion sighed. "Not even for during your upcoming shore leave?"

Tycho pondered that for a moment. Thrawn had finally earned a three-day shore leave, and by shear luck Tycho had won a draw for a three-day leave at the same time. So far, the only plan he and Thrawn had was to spend their leave together, but they hadn't even decided on whether or not to leave the _Accuser_.

"You two really should just go off somewhere for the three days," Hakon said, sitting beside Idris on Idris's bunk. "It doesn't have to be big, just something to get you off the ship and away from prying eyes."

Just then, Thrawn returned, ending the conversation. Hakon and Thelion exchanged a significant look, then Thelion said, "I'm going to go to the gym for a while, I haven't been lately. Anyone want to come?" He stared right at Idris.

"I'll go," Hakon said at once, also staring at Idris.

"Erm, sure, why not?" Idris added, finally taking the hint.

Thelion winked at Tycho as the three slipped from the room, locking the door behind them. Thrawn, still standing in the middle of the room, turned and raised an eyebrow at Tycho, who just shook his head. "Don't ask," he said, shaking his head at his three quirky roommates. Thrawn just shrugged and sat down on the edge of Tycho's bed.

"You know," he said, "I was just wondering…would you ever want to go to Naboo?"

"Naboo?" Tycho asked. "I've heard it's nice. Why?"

Thrawn played with the edge of Tycho's blanket as he said, "Well, I was thinking that we could go there for our leave. There are lots of nice places to rent in the Lake Country, and they're not that expensive at this time of year. School hasn't gotten out yet and people are still working. So I thought, for three days, it would be nice."

Tycho grinned. "I think you're right. You haven't already rented us a villa by any chance, have you?" Thrawn turned bright purple at that, giving Tycho his answer. Laughing, he reached out and pulled Thrawn over for a kiss. "Why am I not surprised?"

Thrawn lay down beside Tycho and wrapped his arms around the other man, pulling him close and kissing him passionately. Tycho ran his hands through Thrawn's hair, thoroughly messing it up. Placing his hands of Thrawn's shoulders, he sat up and straddled Thrawn's legs and ran his hands over the taller man's torso. Thrawn moaned and tried to pull Tycho into another hug, but Tycho wouldn't let him, choosing instead to slide his hands under Thrawn's shirt and continue with his teasing. He moved his hands towards the waist of Thrawn's pants, but stopped when Thrawn shook his head and gripped his wrists tightly. Tycho nodded, not wanting to force things, and instead leaned in for another kiss. Thrawn took the opportunity to wrap Tycho up in another tight hug, rolling so he was above Tycho and nibbling his way down Tycho's neck. Tycho whimpered, wrapping his arms tightly around Thrawn and curling one leg around Thrawn's hips. Thrawn finally tired of Tycho's neck and moved back to his mouth, nibbling on Tycho's lower lip for a bit before kissing him again. Thrawn's lips parted, giving Tycho's tongue free access to his mouth. The two continued on like this, exploring each other's mouths and bodies, for quite some time before Thrawn finally stopped and rested his head on Tycho's chest. Tycho sighed happily, rubbing Thrawn's back gently as they lay there together, neither one wanting to move. Within minutes, Thrawn had fallen asleep. Tycho carefully leaned over and switched off his bedside lamp, then once again wrapped his arms around Thrawn and fell asleep as well.


	6. Chapter 6

Yay, new chapter for my readers! I know you're out there, I've seen the stats. Anyway, a couple of warnings: first off, remember that this is a SLASH STORY. We're talking two guys in love here, people. And second of all, **_THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SEX_. **Yes, that's right, _**THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SEX**_. To help those of you who don't like such things, I've marked both the beginning and ending of the scene with a double row of **X--X--X--X** (why a double row? Because the formatting on the site wouldn't let me do my original idea of X--X and extra space). If you don't like it, use your down arrow or page down key to scroll on past. **YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.**

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**Chapter 6**

Their first day of shore leave arrived just two days later. Thrawn had been given a private shuttle for the trip, and he had arranged for Tycho to be his pilot. Idris, Thelion, and Hakon gathered in the shuttle bay to see them off, waving merrily as Tycho maneuvered the shuttle out of the bay and into hyperspace. Their flight was short and uneventful, and they arrived at Naboo just two hours later. Upon landing and clearing spaceport customs, they hired a landspeeder to take them to their villa.

Tycho was in awe the entire way to the Lake Country. Alderaan would always be his favorite place in the galaxy, but Naboo really gave Alderaan a run for her money. It was early summer, meaning the sky was blue, the grass and trees were green, and everything seemed covered in flowers of every description. Every building they passed fit in perfectly with the surrounding scenery, making it seem as though the buildings were a natural part of the landscape. Thrawn kept pointing to particularly interesting sites, and they both stared in awe as they sped past the palace in the center of Theed. Before long, they found themselves in the Lake Country. Their villa was on an island in the middle of one of the larger lakes, meaning they had to take a gondola to reach it. Tycho studied Thrawn as they crossed the lake, marveling once again at the absolute perfection of Thrawn's appearance. And here, in this setting…Tycho thought it was a crime to remove such a beautiful being from such a beautiful place. It was too bad they had to leave in three days.

They spent the rest of the day exploring the island and lying in the sun. Thrawn wrote another long letter to his family while Tycho sat beside him, resting his head on Thrawn's shoulder and trying to pick out some familiar words. Thrawn had been trying to teach Tycho some of his native language, but Tycho had never been very good at languages and was finding the Chiss people's complex language very difficult. He much preferred to listen to Thrawn speak it -- or even better, sing in it. Tycho had discovered Thrawn's singing voice just a week ago, and hadn't been able to get enough of it since. Even now, as Thrawn wrote his letter to his parents, he was quietly humming a Chiss folk song that Tycho was particularly fond of.

Thrawn kissed the top of Tycho's head as he finished his letter and saved it to a datacard. "I'm hungry. Want to have dinner?" he asked.

"Sure," Tycho replied, standing and stretching. He followed Thrawn into the villa's small kitchen, where they had set the food-prep unit to prepare a series of Alderaanian dishes. It seemed they had excellent timing, for just as they stepped into the kitchen the unit's alarm beeped, signaling that the food was done. They carried the platters of food into the dining room, then settled in for a long dinner. By the time they had finished, the sun had almost disappeared below the horizon. They stayed up cuddling and talking in front of the sitting room's fireplace for a while longer, so that the nearly-full moon was high in the sky before they decided to call it a night. Thrawn headed in for a quick shower before bed, leaving Tycho to his own devices for a few minutes. He managed to find a book to occupy himself and curled up on the large bed to wait for Thrawn.

Half an hour after he disappeared, Thrawn returned, wearing nothing but a towel wrapped tightly around his waist. Tycho glanced up as he entered the room, then dropped the book and stared. Thrawn just stood there for a moment, blushing furiously and watching Tycho, who finally climbed out of the bed and walked over to Thrawn.

They stared into each other's eyes for several long moments before Tycho slowly reached out and ran his fingers over Thrawn's chest. The other shivered, but made no move to stop Tycho, who now began running both hands over Thrawn's torso. Thrawn closed his eyes and bit his lower lip before letting a soft moan escape. Tycho grinned and took a step closer, planting several quick kisses on Thrawn's bare neck and shoulders before letting the taller man pull him into a tight embrace and a passionate kiss. Tycho took a step back, then pulled off his own shirt and tossed it over the back of a nearby chair before wrapping his arms around Thrawn once more. They spent several minutes like that, kissing and holding each other close, before Thrawn turned and led Tycho to the bed.

Tycho gasped, staring at Thrawn's bare back. "What happened to you?"

"What?" Thrawn asked, looking confused.

Tycho's gaze met Thrawn's, and Thrawn's expression went from confused to nervous in seconds. Tycho moved to stand behind Thrawn and traced his finger over the long white scar he had seen when Thrawn had turned his back on him. It started at Thrawn's left shoulder and slashed across his back, almost as far as his right hip. "How did you get this?" he asked softly.

Thrawn moved away from Tycho and sat on the edge of the bed. Tycho followed him, sitting down beside him and taking one of Thrawn's hands in both of his own. Taking a deep breath, Thrawn started speaking softly.

"I think I've already told you that I've never really had a serious relationship. The first person I cared for was a girl in my year at school when I was about fourteen. We were really good friends, and at the time I thought it could become more, but then her family moved away. We were pen-pals for a few months but then that stopped when we both got too busy with school. The next year, I met a guy in my music class. We hit it off pretty quickly, and we were together for six months. Then one day he didn't show up for our usual after-school meeting. When that happened for three days in a row, I decided to go looking for him. I found out he'd been cheating on me with another friend's sister."

Thrawn stopped then, taking another deep breath and fighting back tears. Tycho rubbed his thumb across the back of Thrawn's hand, trying to encourage him. Finally, Thrawn spoke again.

"The next year, when I was sixteen, I entered the junior division of the Royal Academy. Most of my classes were like normal secondary school classes, but I was also taking some university-level classes. It was in one of those that I met Kordis. He seemed perfect -- tall, handsome, the absolute ideal of Chiss manhood. Men and women were throwing themselves at him right and left, and he never seemed to care. Somehow, somewhere along the way, he decided he wanted me. So he started courting me. He'd write poems and songs, make sketches, go out of his way to talk to me and go places with me, everything. Everyone said I was lucky to have caught his eye, and I agreed. Finally, he invited me to the big mid-year party…I gave him everything that night."

Tycho wrapped an arm around Thrawn's shoulders. He had a feeling he knew where this was going, and he didn't like it one bit. Thrawn shook a little, still fighting his tears, and finally continued his story.

"Everything was fine until then. After that, though, Kordis became very possessive. I couldn't go anywhere or do anything without his permission. I knew that was a sign of trouble, but I couldn't see a way out and I didn't want to make him angry. Well, one week about two months after the party I was pulled out of class to be told that my oldest brother had been in an accident and they weren't expecting him to live. My family wanted me to go right home, and an aide had already packed a bag for me. All I had to do was walk out. So I did. I was gone for a week. My brother was in a coma most of that time, but he woke up the day before I had to go back to school. They told me he'd be ok, so I was able to concentrate when I got back. Or that was how it was supposed to be anyway.

"Kordis was waiting for me when I got back, and he was furious. He didn't care that my brother had almost died, just that I had gone off for a week without telling him where I was or what I was doing. He followed me into my room, and we had a fight. I still don't really remember all of what happened, but…I do know he wanted sex…and I wouldn't give it to him…and when I said no he attacked me. The next thing I remember is waking up in the medical wing, feeling like I'd been run over by an ore hauler. My roommate was there, crying and saying he'd come in and found me naked and bloody on the floor. It turned out that Kordis raped me, then slashed my back for good measure. My father went ballistic when he found out and damn near killed Kordis with his bare hands. Kordis was expelled and put in prison. He's still there. I graduated with honors and eventually made my way out here, but I've never really been able to trust anyone since then. Until I met you, anyway."

Tycho just stared at Thrawn for a moment, all sorts of things suddenly becoming clear as he pondered Thrawn's story. Finally, he wrapped both arms around Thrawn and held him tightly, letting Thrawn cry into his shoulder. When he finally stopped crying several long minutes later, Tycho pushed him back so he could look into Thrawn's eyes.

"I would've wanted to kill Kordis too if I'd been there. In fact, I still want to hurt him very badly, even though I know that won't really help anything anymore. But more than anything, I want you to know that I will never, ever hurt you like that." He hesitated for a moment, then said, "I love you too much to ever do anything like that to you."

Thrawn looked shocked. "Tycho…you love me?"

"Of course I do!" Tycho exclaimed, brushing the tears from Thrawn's cheeks. Thrawn just stared at him for a few more moments, then his face lit up in the brightest smile Tycho had ever seen. He pulled Thrawn into a tight hug and whispered, "And don't you ever forget that."

It took him a few moments to register the fact that Thrawn hadn't hugged him back. He was about to ask what the problem was when he felt a pair of hands set about undoing his pants. Thrawn raised his head and gazed at Tycho, a thoroughly mischievous look on his face. Tycho helped Thrawn remove his pants, then slowly undid Thrawn's towel and let it slide off.

They stared at each other, each taking in the site of the other's completely nude forms for the first time. Finally, Thrawn leaned in for a tender kiss, wrapping his arms around Tycho's waist as he did. Tycho placed his hands on Thrawn's shoulders, gently pushing him back onto the bed. Thrawn complied, pulling Tycho down with him. They spent several long minutes lazily exploring each other's bodies, both moaning softly as they discovered each other's most sensitive areas. It wasn't long before both were thoroughly aroused, but Tycho wasn't willing to do anything else without Thrawn's express permission.

Permission he quickly got. "Do it, Tycho," Thrawn whispered between shaky breaths.

"Are you sure?" Tycho asked, caressing Thrawn's cheek with his fingertips.

Thrawn nodded, eyes closed and breathing deeply.

**X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X**

**X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X **

Tycho leaned forward and kissed him gently, then slid off the bed. Thrawn's eyes snapped open and he gave Tycho an annoyed look. Tycho chuckled and said, "I'll be right back." He disappeared into the refresher, returning moments later with a small bottle of oil. Thrawn eyed the bottle, then nodded his understanding. Tycho knelt between Thrawn's legs again, pouring a small drop of oil into his hand and spreading it evenly over his fingers. The last thing he wanted was to cause Thrawn any pain if he could avoid it.

He found Thrawn's opening and carefully slid one finger in, watching for any signs of pain on the other's face. Thrawn let out a small gasp, but nodded to let Tycho know he was ok when Tycho gave him a questioning look. He let Thrawn get used to the one finger for a moment, then added another. Thrawn's whole body jerked as Tycho found his most pleasurable spot. Thrawn squirmed around a bit, hands gripping the sheets beneath him as he tried to find the spot again.

"Tycho…now…please…" he gasped. Tycho pulled his fingers out, earning an annoyed whimper from Thrawn, then poured a little more of the oil into his hand and thoroughly covered himself with it before closing the bottle and tossing it to the floor. He lined himself up with Thrawn's opening and carefully began to push in. Thrawn winced in pain, making Tycho stop and start to back up, but Thrawn said, "No, it's ok…it's ok…" Tycho didn't totally believe him, but he trusted Thrawn to tell him to stop if he needed to. So he did as Thrawn asked, slowly pushing forward until he was completely in Thrawn. The other man squirmed beneath him, trying to find the most pleasurable angle. Tycho gave a few experimental thrusts, this time earning moans of pleasure from Thrawn, and so he continued with his slow thrusting. Thrawn bucked his hips a few times as Tycho hit his sweet spot. Before long the two were sharing a perfect rhythm. Thrawn moaned a few things to Tycho, lapsing into his native language in a matter of moments. Tycho found himself completely unable to form coherent words, much less sentences, as he neared his peak. Finally, with one last thrust, he exploded. Thrawn came moments later, shouting Tycho's name as he did.

**X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X**

**X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X**

**(A/N: it's safe now!) **

Tycho collapsed on the bed beside Thrawn, wrapping his arms around the other man in a tender embrace and kissing his forehead gently. After a few minutes the two fell asleep, wrapped in each other's arms and breathing deeply.


	7. Chapter 7

**Warning for this chapter:** Thrawn gets raped. I don't describe it, but (in my mind anyway) it's pretty clear what happens. Don't like it, don't read it. And now onto your regularly scheduled chapter. Oh, and for this chapter, anything written ---...--- is in another language.

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**  
Chapter 7**

The next morning, Thrawn awoke just as the sun was rising. A small smile appeared on his lips as he watched the sky brighten, listening to Tycho's heart beating beneath his ear. The Alderaanian was still sound asleep, his arms wrapped loosely around Thrawn' shoulders and his face tilted down so that his breath caressed Thrawn's cheek. Thrawn lay there for a while, enjoying the feeling of Tycho's arms around him and Tycho's body against his own, then he slowly pulled away from the other man and rolled out of bed. Finding a pair of trousers and a t-shirt, he dressed and padded out to the sitting room, where a HoloNet unit sat untouched. He turned it on and punched in a complicated code, then waited while his message was routed through an even more complicated series of relays until it reached its destination. A static-filled image appeared in the air before Thrawn, finally resolving itself into the face of another Chiss man.

The other Chiss blinked, then grinned. "Well, well, look who finally decided to call home."

Thrawn laughed. "Good to talk to you too Brynn," he replied. Brynn was Thrawn's oldest brother, the one with whom Thrawn had always gotten along the best. "You've been getting my letters?"

"Oh yes," Brynn replied, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I'm looking forward to meeting this Tycho of yours. He sounds like a real gem."

Thrawn thought back to the previous night's events and felt his smile broaden. "That's an understatement Brynn…he said he loves me."

Brynn's eyes widened. "You believe him?" he asked.

"Of course I do. He's nothing like Kordis."

"He better not be," Brynn growled. "The next guy stupid enough to treat you like that will wind up dead. Dad still feels like Kordis got off easy."

Thrawn shook his head and sighed. "I'm trying to put that behind me…it's not good to think about it so much."

Brynn nodded, then frowned. "Where are you? That background doesn't look like how I imagine a Star Destroyer looking."

"That's because I'm in a villa in Naboo's Lake Country," Thrawn replied dryly. He threw a glance over his shoulder when he heard some stirring from the bedroom. "With Tycho," he added, turning back to his brother. A few moments later, Thrawn felt a hand on his shoulder. He reached up and took Tycho's hand, pulling him closer. "Come say hello to my brother," he said, pointing to the HoloNet unit.

Tycho knelt down beside Thrawn and studied the image floating before them. Brynn titled his head to the side as he studied Tycho. ---He's not what I was expecting---, he said to Thrawn, switching to their native language so Tycho wouldn't understand.

---And what exactly _were_ you expecting?--- Thrawn growled, obviously offended.

Brynn's mouth twitched as he fought a smile. ---He's much better-looking than I expected. You really managed to downplay a lot in your letters, young one---.

Tycho stared back and forth between the two brothers, finally hissing at Thrawn, "What's going on?"

"Nothing, love, my brother's just giving me a hard time," Thrawn answered calmly, rubbing Tycho's back. Waving his free hand at Brynn, he said, "Anyway, this is Brynn, my oldest brother. And this is Tycho, the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Brynn shook his head and Tycho gave Thrawn an amused look. "You're a hopeless romantic, you know that Thrawn?" Brynn said.

"So you tell me on a regular basis," Thrawn countered.

The three sat and chatted for another hour, with Thrawn's other two brothers and his father all making brief appearances during the conversation. Finally, Thrawn and Tycho decided they were too hungry to talk, so they said goodbye to Brynn and went in search of breakfast. They spent the rest of the day talking, swimming, giving each other massages, and making love at just about every chance they got. Thrawn's shyness had all but disappeared, to the point where he was no longer content to allow Tycho to do most of the work as had happened the night before. Not that Tycho was complaining, of course.

The next day they put off packing for as long as they could. Even when they were able to force themselves to pack, they couldn't bring themselves to do more than throw their things haphazardly into their traveling bags. Tycho fell asleep in Thrawn's arms, his head rested on Thrawn's shoulder as the other man sang softly to him.

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They flew back to the _Accuser_ early the next morning. Upon landing, they went their separate ways, Thrawn headed to the bridge and Tycho headed back to his quarters to leave off his bag and get his assignment for the day.

Tycho sighed as he punched in the code that would unlock the door to his quarters, missing Thrawn already. But he only had a few moments to worry about that, for as soon as the door opened Idris grabbed his arm and yanked him into the room. Thelion and Hakon were both sitting on Idris's bunk, studying Tycho intently and trying to keep their smiles under control.  
"Well?" Idris demanded, pushing Tycho down onto his own bunk and sitting beside him. "How was your trip?"

Tycho's eyes darted around, taking in the eager and knowing looks on his friends' faces, then finally allowed the smile he'd been fighting all morning to appear. He laughed, collapsing back onto his pillows, as Idris and the others whooped and hollered. Thelion clapped Tycho's shoulder, while Idris shouted, "See, it wasn't so bad, was it?" Tycho just shook his head, covering his face with his hands in an effort to hide his embarrassed blush. He finally managed to get the others to tell him the day's orders, and they went about their business after making Tycho promise to tell them as much as he could about his leave.

For the rest of the day, Thrawn filled Tycho's thoughts. He kept replaying their three days together, savoring every little memory. He was looking forward to that night, when Thrawn had promised to come for a visit. He practically ran back to his quarters after dinner, not wanting to miss even a second with his beloved. It was therefore understandable that, when Thrawn still hadn't shown up half an hour after he was supposed to, that Tycho was getting worried.

"I'm telling you, Branok probably kept him late. He didn't like it when Thrawn earned that leave," Hakon said in an attempt to calm Tycho.

"Does Branok like it when _anything_ good happens to any of his officers?" Idris asked scathingly from his bunk, where he lay reading the latest news reports on his datapad.

Hakon shrugged. "Probably not, but we only care about Thrawn," he countered. Thelion laughed and Tycho gave him a weak smile. Where the hell was Thrawn?

Moments later there was a sharp knock on the door. Tycho frowned. Thrawn had the code to get in, why was he knocking? But before Tycho could say anything, Thelion had opened the door.

"It's about time, Tycho's been worried sick about you!" he exclaimed as the door slid open.

"I'm touched," came a voice that definitely wasn't Thrawn's. Tycho looked up, to see Thelion staring in shock at the gaunt, sneering Major. But the Major wasn't sneering anymore. In fact, he looked rather ill.

Tycho stood, alarms going off in his mind. "What's going on?" he asked nervously.

"It's Thrawn. He's…well, you need to come with me."

Tycho just stared at the other man for a moment, then nodded and followed him. He didn't even notice when the others followed too, so focused was he on finding out what had happened. The Major led them through a series of hallways they had never seen before, shortcuts he had apparently learned after years of serving on the _Accuser_. They finally entered a corridor that seemed vaguely familiar -- the hallway to the officers' mess. As they approached the door through which Tycho had walked on that fateful day so many months ago, the Major tried to explain what was going on.

"I found him when I came look for Branok. The Captain said he'd be here, but we were told not to bother him unless it was an absolute emergency. Well, when some Rebel ships came along and looked like they were preparing to fire, I thought that counted as an emergency. But the Captain wouldn't answer his comlink, so after the Rebels ran away I came looking for him. I still don't know where Branok is, but Thrawn…"

His voice trailed off as he punched in the entry code for the officers' mess. Tycho pushed past him and stepped into the dark room, calling "Lights!" The lights came on and showed him an image from his worst nightmares.

Thrawn lay sprawled on the floor, naked, badly beaten, and apparently unconscious. Shards of glass from broken wine glasses and a broken bottle lay scattered about he floor around him, and Tycho suspected that more than a few of the shards had cut Thrawn. He knelt down beside the injured alien, feeling for a pulse.

"Thank the Force he's alive," he murmured, pulling off his uniform jacket and carefully laying it over Thrawn. "Someone go get a medic, quickly. We need to find out what happened."

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Thrawn gave Tycho's hand one last squeeze as the shuttle ramp lowered. "I'll come see you tonight, ok? I should be able to leave the bridge by eight."

Tycho nodded and grinned, then waved as he headed away from Thrawn and towards the pilots' barracks. Thrawn turned, a small smile playing across his lips, only to come face to face with Branok. The Captain glared at him. "Had a good leave I take it," Branok spat.

"Yes, sir, I did," Thrawn replied. Even in all this time of working with the Captain, he had yet to figure out the man's erratic moods.

Branok's eyebrow twitched, then he said, "I need you to meet me in the officers' mess in ten minutes."

"Yes, sir," Thrawn replied as Branok turned and strode away, looking livid. Thrawn sighed quietly. It was going to be a long day.

He left his bag off at his room, then hurried to the officers' mess. Branok was already there, and he was alone. As Thrawn entered the room, the door slid shut behind him and Branok held out a full wine goblet.

"Wine, Lieutenant?"

Deciding that it would be better to just drink the stuff and make the meeting that much shorter than it would be to try fighting off Branok's offer, Thrawn took the glass. The wine turned out to be quite good, though Thrawn couldn't understand why Branok would order him here just to give him a glass of wine.

The answer sprang to mind as Thrawn noticed that Branok hadn't drunk any wine himself. His deduction was confirmed when he felt his body refusing to do what he wanted -- namely, move enough to let him run from the room and back to his own quarters. His legs soon lost their ability to support him, and he collapsed into Branok's waiting arms.

"You little alien whore, you thought you could get away with bedding Celchu and no one else would notice. Well, things are different out here. You can't just walk around polluting my crew with your filthy alien germs and expect to get away with it. You need a punishment you'll never forget…No, Thrawny, no more wine for you," he said, kicking the wine goblet away from Thrawn's outstretched hand. Thrawn's hand had trembled as he exerted all of his will to move it and take another drink of the wine. "I know you know one more drink will put you to sleep…and I want you to be awake and helpless for every minute of this…"

Thrawn wanted to close his eyes, to scream, to tear Branok limb from limb. But whatever Branok had put into the wine had immobilized him as completely as any stun blast would have, but without the unpleasant possibility that Thrawn would be asleep for his punishment. As Branok roughly tore Thrawn's uniform from his unmoving body, Thrawn's last coherent thought was to wonder how he had managed to fall for Branok's trick.


	8. Chapter 8

New chapter! No warnings this time, just a request...if you like what you've read (and if you've managed to get to Chapter 8 I'm assuming you've liked_ something_ about this story), please review. Authors like reviews :).

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**Chapter 8**

He didn't know how long he remained unconscious, only that he drifted in and out for a very long time. Though he once felt a gentle hand on his forehead, he was never conscious enough to speak or acknowledge the presence of others. Then, finally, he clawed his way back to full consciousness.

Thrawn opened his eyes and glanced around. He was in a med center, that much was obvious. But it was unnaturally quiet here. Turning his head slowly to the right, he noticed the large window looking out over a glowing cityscape. _Well, that explains the relative quietness anyway…I'm not on the **Accuser** anymore._

He heard the sound of his room's door sliding open and the sound of quiet footsteps approaching his bed. Moments later, Tycho came into view, looking worried and ill. "You're awake," the Alderaanian said, sounding distinctly relieved.

"I'm awake," Thrawn replied softly as Tycho leaned over and kissed his forehead.

"How do you feel?" Tycho asked, caressing Thrawn's cheek and sitting on the edge of the bed.

Thrawn considered his answer. Physically, he'd been better, but he also knew he could be much worse off. Mentally, he hadn't yet had time to really think about what had happened. Emotionally…well, emotionally, he was an absolute wreck. He tilted his head towards Tycho's hand, struggling to keep himself under control and fighting back the tears. "Oh, Tycho…"

The other man leaded over and carefully wrapped an arm around Thrawn, who finally gave up the struggle and let the tears come. Tycho stroked his hair and spoke to him quietly, trying to comfort him as much as possible. Neither knew how long they stayed that way, but finally they were interrupted as the room's door slid open again.

Thrawn shivered from cold as Tycho's arms disappeared from around him. He glanced up to see Tycho saluting someone, then twisted around to see who had come in. There were three figures standing by the door. One was the sneering Major, only he wasn't sneering anymore. He looked rather grim and even a little afraid. Behind him stood two tall figures in long black hooded cloaks and completely hid their faces and bodies from prying eyes. Thrawn's gaze fell on the large golden clasp holding the taller figure's cloak closed, eyes widening in shock. He was even more surprised when, moments later, the two lowered their hoods and confirmed his suspicions.

Brynn was the first to move, almost running to the bedside and falling to his knees beside his youngest brother. They hugged each other tightly, whispering back and forth in their native language while Tycho eyed the second man nervously.

He was the tallest of the three by far, and his long white hair was tied back in a neat ponytail. His handsome features were marred with worry, though he smiled when he noticed Tycho. He motioned for the human to follow him, which Tycho did only after giving Thrawn a quick whispered explanation of where he was going. He followed the older Chiss out the door and down the hallway, until they came to another door that let them outside onto a balcony. There they stood, silent, for several long minutes, while the older man let his gaze wander over the city.

"I used to come here often, during the days of the Old Republic. We Chiss have always kept to ourselves in what you call the Unknown Regions, but when we make friends we are fiercely loyal to them. My family had many friends out here, mostly traders who specialized in exotic Rim goods, so I used to come here to visit them. When Palpatine came to power I made it a policy not to set foot here again unless it was an emergency. This certainly counts as an emergency." He turned his glowing eyes on Tycho, who only managed not to look away because of all the time he'd spent with Thrawn. "My son…he almost died, didn't he?"

Tycho nodded, fighting to speak past the lump rapidly growing in his throat. "Whatever that wine was spiked with was toxic to his system. That, and he took quite a beating." He stopped, trying to gather his scattered thoughts and rein in his emotions. Now was no time for him to have a breakdown. "That Major, the one who called you…he thinks Branok did it. He said Branok looked ready to kill the day Thrawn and I left for Naboo. We don't really know why, but it seems he's had it in for Thrawn since the day Thrawn got assigned to the _Accuser_."

Thrawn's father snorted. "No offence, but how you can love my son and still willingly serve this Empire is beyond me. I spoke to the Major on the trip here, and this Branok sounds like a hard-core Imperial. Things must be done by the book or they must not be done at all. Thrawn being a Lieutenant isn't by the book. An alien and a human having a relationship isn't by the book. Two men having a relationship certainly isn't by the book, nor is a Lieutenant having a relationship with a mere Flight Officer." He shook his head sadly. "I respect you because Thrawn does, Tycho, but I fail to understand how either of you have made the choice to serve this Empire."

Tycho felt completely helpless in the face of the other man's obvious despair. He too had been thinking of this since meeting Thrawn and seeing the disdain with which the other officers seemed to treat him. Then he frowned. "Wait…how did Branok know about us? We've been trying to keep it quiet."

Thrawn's father smiled sadly. "I've been an officer in our people's military since I was Thrawn's age, and believe me, officers have ways of getting the information they want. Can you be absolutely sure no one said anything about you two within the hearing of an informer? Or near Branok himself? Or perhaps your behavior has been more obvious than you thought." He shrugged. "There are any number of ways he could have found out, young one."

They looked up as the door slid open behind them and Brynn stepped out onto the balcony. "The doctors wanted to look at him without anyone there to interfere," he explained. "Tycho, I see you've met our father, Kai."

Tycho nodded, choosing not to mention that Kai hadn't gotten around to formally introducing himself yet. "How's Thrawn?"

Brynn sighed. "Well…I think he'll be ok, but…this sort of thing has already happened to him once, and he didn't recover from that for years."

The three stood in silence for a while, then Tycho said, "I'm going to go see if they're done with him, I hate leaving him alone for too long."

"I'll come with you," Brynn said. The two headed off, leaving Kai on the balcony. They walked in silence until they arrived at the door to Thrawn's room. Tycho was about to open the door when Brynn grabbed his arm and pushed him back against the nearest wall.

"Um…Brynn…"

Brynn leaned in close, so that his face was mere inches from Tycho's. "This isn't going to change how you feel about Thrawn, is it?"

Tycho blinked in confusion. "Of course not! I love him, Brynn."

"You better not hurt him," Brynn replied, "because if you do, I will personally tear you limb from limb. I mean it -- he's been through enough."

Tycho just nodded, too shocked by this rather violent side of Brynn to say anything. The Chiss man finally backed up and let Tycho step away from the wall. Before opening the door, Tycho turned to him and said, "Are you coming in with me?"

Brynn shook his head, giving Tycho a small smile. "He was asking for you. I think he wants some more time alone with you before you have to back to the ship. Go on, we'll see him later."

With that, he turned and left, leaving Tycho to visit Thrawn alone. Tycho watched him for a moment, then slipped quietly into Thrawn's room. The other man was sitting up in bed, staring out the window at the bright lights of Coruscant. Tycho stood and watched him for a moment, studying him. Even now, in this time of such pain, he was gorgeous. His usually neat hair was messy, and his cheeks glistened with tears. His arms and torso were covered in bandages, hiding the places where Branok had cut him with shards of glass from the wine bottle and wine glasses. Tycho clenched his fists in anger. How would he ever be able to look at Branok again without thinking of what he'd done to Thrawn? Maybe he could get a transfer to another ship…and maybe Thrawn could go with him…

At that moment, Thrawn turned and looked right at Tycho, giving him a weak smile. Tycho tried to smile back, but he was still so angry about Branok that he couldn't. Thrawn's smile wavered and a worried look came over his face. Tycho finally padded over to Thrawn's bed and sat on the edge again, pulling the other man close and holding him as tightly as he dared knowing what was under the bandages covering his body.

"I love you, so very much…" he whispered, breathing in the scent of Thrawn's hair as Thrawn rested his head on Tycho's shoulder. "Nothing could ever change that."

Thrawn wrapped his arms around Tycho, clinging to his lover as though his very life depended on it. "I love you too, Tycho," he said quietly. They sat like that for a long time, Tycho stroking the back of Thrawn's head and Thrawn leaning against Tycho, until it became obvious that Thrawn needed sleep. Tycho helped him lie back down, then carefully tucked the blankets around him and sat with him until he had fallen asleep.

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The next morning, Tycho was ordered to return to the _Accuser_. He asked Kai and Brynn to tell Thrawn where he'd gone, since he had to leave before Thrawn awoke. On his way to the landing pad where he was to board a shuttle bound for his ship, he stopped at the main military headquarters and picked up two datacards with the forms needed to request a transfer to another ship. He knew he couldn't bear to serve under Branok any longer, and he doubted Thrawn would want to either.

When the shuttle landed, he found a rather large crowd waiting for him in the landing bay. At the very front of the crowd, close to where the ramp settled into place, stood Tycho's worried-looking roommates. They gathered around Tycho, forming a screen as they worked their way through the curious people and out the landing bay doors. Tycho didn't speak until they arrived at their shared quarters, but he was shaking with rage. As the door slid closed behind them, he dropped his bag and rounded on his nervous roommates.

"What the hell was that?" he nearly shouted, pointing in the direction of the landing bay.

"Tycho…everyone knows what happened now, and they all know about you and Thrawn too. They're curious," Idris said, not meeting Tycho's glare.

"Well, how'd they find out? How'd Branok find out, for that matter?"

The other three exchanged a perplexed look, then Thelion spoke. "Well…after Thrawn was removed from the ship, Branok announced that he'd been in an illicit relationship and that was why he'd been hurt…of course, Branok didn't mention that he'd done the hurting. And really, everyone here knew you and Thrawn were friends…they figured it out from there."

Hakon added, "We know Branok knew you two went to Naboo together. I don't think he bought the story of you going at Thrawn's pilot. That Major mentioned something about security tapes too…I'm guessing Branok watched all your little midnight meetings in the kitchens and guessed what was going on from that."

Tycho looked around helplessly for a moment, the collapsed onto his bed and pulled his bag closer. He dug around until he found his datapad and one of the datacards and plugged it in. Moments later, he was filling out the form requesting transfer off the _Accuser_.

"What's that?" Idris asked.

"Transfer request form. I can't stay here anymore," Tycho replied, not bothering to look up. The other three looked at one another sadly as Tycho continued working in silence.

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Thrawn's return to the _Accuser_ reminded Tycho of a celebrity arriving at a holofilm premier. It seemed that every person who could find even the lamest excuse to be in the landing bay was there, meaning that most of the crew crowded into the bay. Tycho buried himself in the corner, trying to stay away from prying eyes. A murmur swept through the crowd as the shuttle appeared, growing louder as the shuttle came closer. By the time the shuttle landed and lowered its ramp, the hall was filled with the sounds of people shouting to each other across the bay. Thrawn strode down the ramp, glaring laser bolts at the crowd. For the first time since meeting him, Tycho was glad that he hadn't caught Thrawn's eye. The man looked ready to kill the first person who approached him.

Thrawn stopped at the bottom of the ramp and shouted, "Attention!"

The crowd snapped to attention, eyeing Thrawn warily as he swept through the bay and out the door. Once everyone was sure he was out of earshot, the gossiping began again. Tycho waited for five minutes, then slipped from the bay and headed for Thrawn's quarters. He didn't bother knocking, just punched in the entry code and stepped inside. He saw Thrawn sitting on the edge of the bed, shaking with barely-contained fury and despair. He went and sat beside Thrawn, wrapping an arm gently around his shoulder.

"I can't stay here, Tycho," Thrawn said in a shaky voice. "I'm sorry, but I have to leave the _Accuser_"

Tycho rubbed his back and replied, "It's ok. I'm putting in for a transfer too."

"We'll probably wind up on separate ships, you know. They won't put us together again, Branok will see to that."

Tycho nodded. "I know. But…there's still the HoloNet…and we can get together on leaves…"

Thrawn smiled weakly. "Will that be enough for you?"

"I don't know," Tycho whispered. "It'll have to be I suppose."

Thrawn rested his head on Tycho's shoulder and sighed. "We'll make it work."

They kissed then, wrapping their arms tightly around each other and enjoying a few moments together. The kiss ended, and Thrawn stood, squeezing Tycho's hand gently. "I have to go to the bridge, I'm expected to be the good little Lieutenant and just pick up where I left off. Will you come see me tonight?"

Tycho nodded and watched Thrawn go, hoping there wouldn't be any more crises before they could get new assignments. He didn't know if they could handle another crisis.


	9. Chapter 9

So, here we have sap and drama. Fun combination! Anyway, please review if you'd like...and enjoy.

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**Chapter 9**

They both sent in their transfer requests the next day, and then they waited. Tycho and Thrawn continued visiting each other in their quarters, though they no longer met in any places that had security cameras. Though no one actually said anything to them, it soon became obvious that most of the crew sided with the couple against Branok. For their parts, Tycho shied away from spending much time with the other pilots now, while Thrawn completely stopped worrying about how anyone else saw him and had fallen into his old command patterns from home. Tycho began hearing stories of Thrawn completely showing up Branok's tactical abilities at every turn, as well as becoming somewhat colder and more aloof. Tycho regularly thanked the Force that he was never on the receiving end of Thrawn's glare. In fact, the juiciest rumor floating around the ship was that Branok was now terrified of his Lieutenant.

None of this, however, had diminished their passion for each other. Tycho soon found himself spending most of his nights in Thrawn's private room so he wouldn't have to kick his roommates out in order to have privacy. Thrawn had become an amazingly skilled lover since their first night together, often leaving an exhausted Tycho begging for more. If they didn't have Branok and the distinct possibility that they would wind up on separate ships to worry about, things would have been perfect.

"We can live together on my homeworld someday," Thrawn said one night after a particularly passionate session of lovemaking. Stroking Tycho's stomach, he added, "It's colder than you're used to, and we've built our cities and homes underground, but I think you'd like it after a while. Or we could live on one of the colony worlds."

Tycho looked up into Thrawn's glowing eyes. "I thought you'd been exiled and couldn't go home," he said.

Thrawn shook his head. "That's the official story. I chose to leave, on the condition that the Captain who found me would find a way of protecting my people from the Empire. The story of my exile was the solution he created. It's worked so far."

"So you do plan on going home someday?"

"Of course," Thrawn answered. "I miss home."

Tycho watched Thrawn for a few minutes, while the other man remained lost in thought about his home. Finally, Tycho took a deep breath and said, "Well, I suppose we could do that. We have to decide who would take who's name though. Thrawn Celchu just doesn't really work, but…you've never really told me your full name."

Thrawn blinked, his hand abruptly stopping its stroking as he studied Tycho. "Did you really just talk about who would take who's name?"

"Erm…yeah…" Tycho replied nervously.

"Like when people marry out here, they take each other's names," Thrawn stated, his mouth twitching as he fought a smile.

"Just like," Tycho answered, eyes sparkling.

Thrawn laughed. "Tycho Celchu, is that what you call a proposal?"

Tycho grinned. "Yeah, I guess it is."

Thrawn stopped laughing and studied Tycho again. "We haven't even known each other for a year, you know. Are you sure you want to marry me?"

Tycho nodded. "I've been giving it a lot of thought actually. It just feels so _right_. I've never loved someone the way I love you, and I want that to last forever."

Thrawn kept watching him for several minutes, until finally Tycho began to look nervous. A fresh smile slowly spread across Thrawn's face as he said, "Well, then, Tycho, I accept your proposal. On one condition," he said, holding up a finger to stop Tycho from tackling him. "You're taking my name."

"Ok…what'll that make me?"

Thrawn's eyes sparkled. "Mitt'ycho'nuruodo. To go with my name, Mitth'raw'nuruodo."

Tycho gave Thrawn a despairing look, which earned him a laugh and a tender kiss. "You'll get it eventually, don't worry."

"Fine then, but the ceremony happens on Alderaan," Tycho said, raising an eyebrow at Thrawn.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Thrawn replied, before pulling Tycho into a kiss that promised much excitement for the rest of the evening.

Tycho decided to wait a few days before breaking the news to his roommates. After all, he and Thrawn needed to figure out how they were going to tell their own families. Thrawn finally insisted that the only proper way to do so was in person, but since that didn't seem possible, notes on actual paper were the next best bet. Tycho finally gave up his argument that the HoloNet was close enough to in person, since the issue was so important to Thrawn, and agreed that they could look for some nice stationery on their upcoming day-long leave on Corellia.

The morning of their leave, Tycho rolled out of Thrawn's bed and grabbed his clothes for the day. Thrawn was already up, making some final adjustments to his uniform. Noticing that Tycho was a wake, he turned and smiled sadly. "I have some things to take care of on the bridge before going down to Corellia, so I'll have to meet you there."

Tycho nodded. "Alright. I need to do some boring shopping first anyway. There's a café right off the spaceport, I'll meet you there when you land."

He left Thrawn's room a short time later and pratically ran to the landing bay, where a shuttle waited to take him and several other troops to the Coronet City spaceport. As much as Tycho wanted to spend every available minute with Thrawn, he also realized that it would be much easier for him to buy Thrawn's gift without the other man following him around.

Tycho had been too excited about his engagement to Thrawn to be able to keep the news totally to himself, and so, one day while he had some free time without Thrawn, he had called his father. The elder Celchu had been thrilled with the news and, after promising not to tell anyone else, had been able to give Tycho a list of reputable art dealers in Coronet City. Tycho had contacted each one, asking for pictures and price lists, and had finally settled on a beautiful sculpture of a man dancing that reminded him of Thrawn practicing his martial arts. He had decided to pick it up in person to save the shipping costs, and today was the day.

Finding the shop and finalizing the transaction took the better part of an hour, but Tycho finally left and went in search of the café he had told Thrawn about. He stepped inside and looked around, hoping that he had beaten Thrawn here. He sighed in relief when he didn't spot Thrawn, and then drew in a sharp breath. There, sitting in the corner and slowly sipping a drink, was a rather familiar man. Tycho took a few steps closer, watching the man carefully. It did indeed seem to be him…

"Biggs?"

The man looked at Tycho over the rim of his glass, than a broke into a huge smile and set his glass down. "Tycho! What a surprise! I honestly never thought I'd see you again!"

He stood and embraced Tycho warmly, and the two exchanged cheek-to-cheek air kisses. Though not an Alderaanian custom, Tycho had come to expect it from his Tatooinian friend. "Well, I never expected to see you back in Imperial space at any rate," Tycho said, taking the seat across from Biggs.

Biggs Darklighter had been in his last year at the Imperial Academy when Tycho arrived. The two had become close friends, with Biggs showing the young Tycho the ins and outs of life at Carrida. His defection and theft of the _Rand Ecliptic_ not long after graduating had become the stuff of legend, and though Tycho didn't really agree with Biggs's politics, he couldn't help admiring the sheer audacity of Biggs and the others who had defected with him.

"What's in the box?" Biggs asked, taking his seat again.

Tycho grinned and handed it to him. Biggs opened it carefully as Tycho said, "It's a gift…for my fiance."

Biggs had finally managed to get the sculpture out of its wrappings, and as Tycho said this he stared at the younger man in shock. "Fiance? You're engaged?"

Tycho nodded and Biggs grinned at him, then set the sculpture back in its box and gave Tycho another hug. "Ah, congratulations, Tycho! Who's the lucky girl?"

Tycho blushed and said, "Lucky guy, actually. He's a Lieutenant on my ship."

Biggs laughed. "Tycho Celchu, how did you ever manage _that_?"

Tycho grinned. "Buy me a drink and I'll tell you."

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Thrawn buried himself in his bed, struggling not to scream. He got up to make sure he'd actually managed to change the code on his door, then collapsed again and sobbed into his pillow. _This can't be happening…It just can't be happening…_

For what felt like the millionth time, he replayed the afternoon's events in his head. He had arrived at the spaceport just over an hour after Tycho had left the ship, and had quickly found the designated café. He stood in the entryway for a few moments, searching for Tycho, and had finally found him standing in front of a table hidden away in the corner. Thrawn had just taken a step towards Tycho when another man rose from the small table and hugged Tycho. Thrawn could probably have handled that, but then…then, they kissed. It was quick, but it was still a kiss. They then sat down at the table, and Tycho handed the other man a box. The man opened the box, pulled something out of it, and stared at it. He asked Tycho something, and after Tycho answered he smiled and hugged Tycho again. At that point, Thrawn felt he had watched all he could. He turned and left, blindly roaming the city for what felt like hours before finally making his way back to the _Accuser._ And now he was here, wondering how his life had taken such a dramatic turn in such a short time.

Thrawn dragged himself out of bed and over to his small HoloNet unit, then punched in the code for home. Brynn's face appeared on the screen moments later. "Thrawn, what's…what happened?"

Taking a deep breath, Thrawn launched into his story. At first Brynn looked alarmed, then he began to look angry. By the time Thrawn had finished, Brynn looked ready to kill. "Where are you?" he asked.

"Over Corellia. We're heading to Obroa-Skai tomorrow though."

Brynn nodded. "Listen, Thrawn, stay away from Tycho until you reach Obroa-Skai. No, don't argue with me. You've been through enough. Just stay away from him. I'll take care of this."


	10. Chapter 10

Hmm...more drama! Because drama rocks. Don't forget to leave a review for the authoress!

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**Chapter 10**

Tycho collapsed onto his bunk, fighting back tears as he did. Idris came and sat beside him, trying to comfort his friend. "Still won't talk to you?"

Tycho shook his head and sniffled. "I just want to know what I did!"

"Maybe he had second thoughts about the marriage and just…doesn't want to tell you," Hakon said from his own bunk. Thelion and Idris nodded.

When Thrawn had stopped talking to or seeing Tycho three days ago, he had finally broken down and told them about the proposal. He showed them the sculpture, still tucked safely in its box and currently hidden under his bed. And he had thrown himself into the task of trying to get Thrawn to talk again. So far, though, no luck.

"He seemed so happy when I asked him…" Tycho murmured. Idris patted his shoulder.

"Maybe you just need to give him some space," Thelion said sagely from the foot of Tycho's bed. "Maybe he's just overwhelmed by it all and needs time to digest it."

Tycho shook his head. That just didn't make any sense to him at all. He knew Thrawn, and Thrawn generally didn't need to think things through like this.

They all turned to stare at the quiet knock on the door, Tycho sitting bolt upright in his bed. The knock came again, louder this time, and Hakon opened the door. A tall man in a heavy black cloak stood on the other side of the door, his red eyes smoldering beneath the hood. Tycho stared. "Brynn?" he asked.

Without saying a word, Brynn stepped into the room. He let the door slide shut behind him, slowly removed his cloak, and then pulled Tycho from his bed and shoved him against the wall.

Tycho grunted as the wind was knocked out of him, feeling slightly dazed. He heard the others shouting, but Brynn didn't seem to care. His eyes were fixed on Tycho, whom he was studying as though trying to decide how best to torture the younger man. "Brynn, what's going on?"

"Don't play stupid with me, you know very well what's going on," Brynn spat, letting Tycho drop to the floor and kneeing him hard in the groin. Tycho doubled over in pain and Brynn hit him hard in the back, sending Tycho sprawling. He heard the door slide open as one of his roommates ran for help. The others were shouting at Brynn, trying to make him stop, but Brynn wouldn't listen.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Tycho insisted, making a valiant effort to pull himself up. Brynn let him get about halfway to standing before attacking again, showing Tycho with a blinding array of martial arts moves that were far more advanced that what Thrawn had managed to teach him.

"I bet you thought you could get away with it, didn't you?" Brynn growled. "You could see your little side toy, and give him his present, and then he'd leave and you'd have your way with Thrawn again. Well, guess what…that's not something our people tolerate very well. Oh, stop your whining, didn't I warn you that if you hurt Thrawn you'd have me to answer to?"

Tycho didn't register most of what Brynn was saying. He was too focused on dodging

the blows raining down on him to really think much. Idris, however, seemed to have caught one thing Brynn was saying.

"That gift is for Thrawn!" he shouted. "But Thrawn's been ignoring him for the past three days, so Tycho hasn't had a chance to give it to Thrawn yet!"

"Where is it then, hmm?" Brynn asked, turning his angry gaze on Idris.

Thelion dived to the floor and yanked the box from it's hiding place under Tycho's bed. "Here!" he shoved the box at Brynn, while Tycho leaned heavily on the wall and tried to regain control of his breathing. His lower lip was split, dripping blood all over the front of his once-clean shirt, and he had a wicked black eye forming. Now that he had a chance to think, he knew exactly what Brynn was talking about. But how to explain it?

Brynn eyed the box in Thelion's hand, then took it and opened it slowly. He carefully lifted the sculpture out and studied it. "You got this for Thrawn?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah," Tycho replied weakly. "I went to the café to wait for Thrawn and saw a friend there. I was showing it to him."

Brynn narrowed his eyes at Tycho. "You hugged him."

Tycho sighed. "Yeah, because he's a friend and I haven't seen him in a few years. Not since he defected."

Brynn still looked suspicious. "You kissed him too."

_Oi. Thrawn saw it all, and totally misread it! _"Yeah, like this," he said, grabbing Idris and giving his a quick air-kiss. "Not a real kiss."

Brynn blinked, then handed the sculpture to Tycho. At that moment, Hakon returned, dragging Thrawn with him. "Listen, he's your brother, and he's beating up on your boyfriend! You've got to stop him!"

Thrawn just stood stiffly, surveying the scene before him. Tycho tried to hide the sculpture, but Brynn grabbed his wrist and held his hand in place. "Don't. Let him see it."

Tycho and Thrawn stared at each other for a long moment, then Tycho slowly extended the sculpture to Thrawn, who carefully took it and studied it. "What's this?"

"It's the gift I got you," Tycho said. "I was showing it to Biggs in the café. Not giving it to him, just showing it to him."

Thrawn stared at the sculpture blankly. "But you hugged him…and you kissed…"

Tycho shook his head. "He's just a friend. I haven't seen him in years. And it wasn't a kiss, it was just…" And he air-kissed Idris again.

"Is that what you saw?" Brynn asked quietly.

"Yes…" Thrawn whispered, tears in his eyes.

Tycho watched the brothers nervously. They whispered back and forth in their native language for a minute, then Thrawn resumed his studying of the sculpture. "You got this for me," he said, turning it over and over in his hands, a look of disbelief growing as he did.

"Yes. It reminds me of you," Tycho replied.

Thrawn looked up, staring into Tycho's eyes. He carefully set the sculpture on top of a small dresser, then pulled Tycho into a tight hug. "I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry I doubted you, and have been ignoring you, and let Brynn come here and do this…I'm so very sorry Tycho…"

Tycho rested his head on Thrawn's shoulder and rubbed his back gently. "It's all right, Thrawn. We'll get through this." He pulled back a little and gave Thrawn a weak smile. "I might want a restraining order against Brynn, but other than that I think we're fine."

Everyone dissolved into laughter at that, happy to see the young couple together again. Brynn slipped from the room silently, needing to make an escape before anyone else noticed an intruder on the _Accuser. _Tycho and Thrawn, meanwhile, shared a passionate kiss, oblivious to the world around them.


	11. Chapter 11

An update, yay!

**WARNING: This chapter contains sex**. Just like last time, I've seperated that scene from the rest of the story will a double line of **X--X--X--X** at both the beginning and end of the scene. But since the end of the scene and the end of the chapter are pretty much the same thing, you might want to be careful when scrolling to the end. So yeah. As usual, if you don't like that kind of stuff, just don't read it. Otherwise, enjoy!

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**Chapter 11**

Following this crisis, Thrawn gave up on his quest for the perfect stationery. They spent the next day calling their respective families and sharing the good news of their engagement. Thrawn's father immediately launched into planning mode, rattling off a list of essential guests that made Tycho's head spin. Thrawn's brothers were much more relaxed about the whole thing, with Brynn just smiling happily and the other two teasing the couple about anything and everything they could think of. Tycho's family spent the better part of half an hour congratulating the two and questioning them about their plans. Skoloc seemed particularly excited about the idea of having Thrawn for a brother-in-law, while Tycho's sisters were mostly excited about the actual wedding and could be heard in the background chatting about what to wear.

And so it went for about a month. Tycho got to meet some of Thrawn's friends via HoloNet when Thrawn called to tell them what was going on. They didn't seem as enthusiastic as Tycho had expected, but Thrawn explained that this was just the Chiss way and that, in reality, they were very happy. Tycho's friends were surprised -- he had been popular with the girls in school, so the last thing they had expected was for Tycho to have a boyfriend. Still, once they got over the initial shock, they too were thrilled with the news.

And things just kept getting better. For all intents and purposes, Thrawn was now in control of the _Accuser_. Though Branok was still the official Captain, he had become too frightened of Thrawn to stay near the Lieutenant for more than a few minutes at a time. This meant that he avoided places he knew Thrawn would be, like the bridge. Though Thrawn was a tough officer, the crew seemed to prefer him to Branok anyway. Thrawn cancelled most of the irrelevant activities Branok had once insisted upon, which most of the crew appreciated, and overall efficiency on the _Accuser_ improved greatly as a result. Tycho began hearing rumors of a special letter sent to the military headquarters on Coruscant encouraging Thrawn's promotion, but he never saw the letter. He came to believe the rumors were true, however, when Thrawn appeared in his room three weeks later waving his data pad and grinning broadly.

"What's that?" Tycho asked, expecting the latest update to the wedding guest list.

Thrawn handed him the datapad. "Read it!"

Tycho took it and studied it for a moment, eyes widening in shock as he read:

_Lieutenant Thrawn:_

_It is my pleasure to inform you that you are to be promoted to Captain. You excellent service record, combined with the near-unanimous recommendation of the crew of your current ship, the Accuser, have shown us that your talents and skills are being wasted at your current rank. Please see the attachments for the schedule of your promotion ceremony and, following your promotion, your new assignment._

_Congratulations, Captain. I am looking forward to having the opportunity to work with you in the future._

_Sincerely,_

_Governor Wilhuff Tarkin, G. M._

He finished reading and looked up at Thrawn, who was struggling to keep a smug look from his face. Tycho tapped the link to the attachments, looking for the date of the ceremony. "Hmm…two weeks after my birthday," he said. "That's just barely a month away." He grinned at Thrawn, who came and sat on the edge of Tycho's bunk. "Oh, congratulations, love," Tycho said, wrapping Thrawn in a huge hug.

"I'm going to try to get you transferred to my new ship," Thrawn said. "I can do that as a Captain."

The news of Thrawn's impending promotion spread like wildfire through the _Accuser_, and though everyone was sad to know Thrawn would be leaving (thus returning them to Branok's official command), they were also happy that he had finally gotten what he deserved. Tycho often came across knots of people quietly discussing just how far Thrawn would eventually go in his career. The general consensus was that, because of anti-alien prejudices in the Imperial military, he wouldn't go as far as he should. Tycho, however, wasn't really worried about that. For now, his only concerns were Thrawn's happiness and his ability to be with the one he loved.

Tycho was so absorbed in wedding plans and looking forward to Thrawn's promotion that he didn't even notice that his own birthday was rapidly approaching. Then one day Idris asked, "So, you two planning anything special?"

Tycho looked up from the latest list of possible color schemes Thrawn's father had sent them. "Um, yeah…like a wedding," he said, marveling at Idris's sudden denseness.

Idris rolled his eyes. "Not that! I meant for your birthday. It's less than a week away, you know."

Tycho's eyes widened. "Damn, I almost forgot about that!" Once Idris finished laughing, he continued, "Thrawn hasn't said anything to me, so I'm not really sure. He's pretty busy, now that Branok seems to have given up trying to be a Captain."

Idris shrugged. "Guess we'll just have to wait and see then."

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Tycho's twenty-first birthday finally arrived, with much fanfare from his fellow pilots. He spent most of the day being congratulated and wished well for the next year. The other members of his squadron had pooled their resources to get him a gift certificate to one of Coruscant's best and most expensive restaurants. Finally, at the end of the day, he made his way to Thrawn's private quarters. He let himself in to find Thrawn lounging on the bed, the HoloNet unit on.

Thrawn smiled and nodded towards the HoloNet. "Thought you might like to call home first," he said as Tycho shed his uniform jacket.

"Thanks, Tycho replied, returning the smile. As he punched in the codes for home, Thrawn disappeared into the small refresher attached to his room. Moments later, the NovaCom crest appeared in front of Tycho, then dissolved into an image of his family.

They were all there, gathered together in the Celchu family's sitting room, each holding a drink with which to toast Tycho. "Happy birthday, Tycho!" Skoloc called from his vantage point at the front of the crowd.

Tycho grinned. "Thanks, Skoloc. Good to see you all."

"How are the wedding plans coming?" Aderyn asked.

"Fine, fine. And no, we haven't chosen our colors yet," Tycho replied, guessing his sisters' next question. They seemed to wilt a little at that, though they quickly cheered up again as the conversation continued.

Tycho was in the middle of telling his parents about the gift his squadron had given him when the image collapsed and was replaced by a solid wall of static. He poked at a few keys on the HoloNet unit in exasperation, then shook his head and chuckled. This sort of thing didn't happen often, but when it did happen it gave him a good excuse to tease his father.

"Have a good chat?"

Tycho turned to answer Thrawn, but found that he couldn't talk. Instead, he found himself staring in open-mouthed fascination at his fiance.

Thrawn was leaning against the wall, studying Tycho coolly. He was no longer wearing his uniform, as he had been when Tycho arrived. Instead, he now wore an outfit that Tycho had never seen but would forever feel justified in begging Thrawn to wear -- the tight black t-shirt from their first meeting, once again showing off Thrawn's perfect torso, and a low-slung black kilt that accentuated his hips and legs incredibly well. Tycho tried to remember what he'd been about to say, only to find that he couldn't remember much from the last several minutes any longer.

**X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X**

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He became even more distracted when Thrawn pushed away from the wall and slowly approached him. Tycho felt his breathing become more rapid, and he closed his eyes as Thrawn finally came to a stop before him. Thrawn placed his hands on Tycho shoulders and pulled him closer, placing a tender kiss on his lips. Tycho tried to wrap his arms around Thrawn, but Thrawn pushed them back to his sides before setting to work removing Tycho's shirt. Finally managing to undo all the buttons and untuck the shirt from Tycho's pants, Thrawn pushed the shirt off and began showering Tycho's neck and shoulders in quick but fiery kisses. Again, Tycho tried to touch Thrawn, and again Thrawn pushed his hands back to his sides. Thrawn then set to work on Tycho's pants, letting Tycho help him. Moments later, the Alderaanian stood naked before his lover, breathing heavily and eyeing Thrawn hungrily. He tried to brush his fingers across Thrawn's cheek, but for the third time he found his hand pushed away.

"Try that again and I might just have to tie your hands," Thrawn said softly, just a hint of teasing in his cultured voice. Tycho's eyes widened, then he gave Thrawn a mischievous grin and planted both hands firmly on Thrawn's hips.

Thrawn sighed in mock exasperation, then picked Tycho up and dropped him on the bed. "I warned you, didn't I?" He pulled a long, wide silk ribbon from where it had been hanging on the waist of his kilt, then pushed Tycho's hands over his head and tied them together, making sure the ribbon wasn't too tight before moving on to other things.

"You're evil," Tycho declared as Thrawn stood and took a step back.

"Maybe, but would you have me any other way?" Thrawn replied, taking in the sight of an already-fully-aroused Tycho lying on his bed

"Mm, good point," Tycho agreed, earning him another kiss and the feeling of Thrawn's fingertips stroking his stomach. Thrawn stood again, then turned his back on Tycho and slowly removed his t-shirt, revealing his smooth and well-muscled back. After Branok's attack, he had spent some time in a bacta tank and then with small bacta patches applied to the cuts and to the scar Kordis has given him. The other cuts had healed perfectly, and even Kordis's scar had almost vanished. Tycho should know, he had spent several lazy nights exploring every inch of Thrawn's body.

Thrawn threw a glowing gaze over his shoulder at Tycho, who was lying perfectly still and drinking in the sight of a now-topless Thrawn. He shivered a bit as Tycho's eyes flowed over his body, then turned away and set to work removing the kilt. He unclasped the wide belt that held it in place, then opened the kilt and turned to face Tycho as he dropped it to pool around his feet. He then lay down, stretching his body over Tycho's and capturing the other man's mouth in a passionate kiss. Tycho shuddered beneath Thrawn, yearning for his touch but not able to do much, seeing as Thrawn had done a very good job of tying in hands in place.

He moaned when Thrawn broke the kiss, then gasped as Thrawn's mouth reappeared on his stomach and he felt Thrawn wrap a hand firmly around his shaft. Tycho bucked his hips as Thrawn began stroking him, tilting his head down to watch the other man. He was very close to an orgasm when Thrawn stopped, backing away and refusing to touch Tycho for what felt like an eternity but was really less than a minute. Tycho glared, but Thrawn just smiled and began teasing Tycho again, licking and nibbling every inch of Tycho's body. When he finally stopped that a few minutes later, Tycho was writhing around on the bed and whimpering incoherently.

Thrawn finally lay down on the bed beside Tycho, reaching up and untying Tycho's hands. The Alderaanian promptly rolled towards Thrawn, intent on pulling the other man into a hug, but Thrawn pushed him the other way so that his back was facing Thrawn. Tycho whimpered again, wanting to hold Thrawn, but Thrawn was stronger and was more than capable of holding Tycho in place. He sighed happily as he felt Thrawn's arm around his waist, holding them close together, then gasped as he felt Thrawn pushing into him. Thrawn kissed the tops of Tycho's shoulders and nuzzled his neck gently, slightly loosening his grip on Tycho's waist. Tycho squirmed a bit, pushing back against Thrawn, and then the two just lay there together for a moment.

Tycho reached back and stroked Thrawn's cheek as the other man began thrusting, slowly at first but quickly getting faster and harder. Thrawn managed to get his free arm under Tycho and wrap it around the other man's torso, while closing his other hand around Tycho's shaft once more and stroking in time with his thrusts. Tycho whimpered, moaning Thrawn's name over and over, then tossing his head back with a loud shout as he exploded. Thrawn continued thrusting for a few more minutes, finally coming himself and burying his face against Tycho's shoulder. Tycho pulled away from him, rolling over and wrapping his arms around Thrawn.

**X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X**

**X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X--X**

They lay there together, breathing deeply, Thrawn murmuring gently to Tycho in his native language and Tycho running his fingers through Thrawn's hair. They finally fell asleep, arms wrapped tightly around each other and Tycho's head pillowed on Thrawn's strong shoulder.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

For about three days after Tycho's birthday, no one seemed to know that anything was amiss. Life aboard the _Accuser_ went on as usual, Tycho and Thrawn continuing to steal time together whenever they could, Branok avoiding all duties of command, and everything generally running smoothly. It therefore came as a great surprise to Thrawn when, upon returning to his quarters from dinner one night, he found a nervous-looking Branok standing in front of his door, waiting for him.

"Yes, sir?" Thrawn asked.

Branok cleared his throat. "Lieutenant, your…boyfriend, lover --"

"Fiance," Thrawn interrupted.

"Fiance -- whatever he is, that's not important. He's from Alderaan, isn't he?"

Thrawn frowned. "Yes, he is. Why?"

Branok looked around to see that they were alone, then leaned in and whispered, "There hasn't been any word from Alderaan in three days. Rumors are starting to circulate. Some say the Empire has blocked all communication between Alderaan and the rest of the galaxy. Others say Alderaan has closed itself off. But some…some say Alderaan is gone."

"What do you mean, gone?" Thrawn asked, alarmed. "Planets don't just vanish!"

Branok nodded. "That's what I said. But the fact remains that Alderaan has been out-of-touch for three days."

Thrawn frowned. "Three days…Tycho…Flight Officer Celchu, I mean, was talking to his family three days ago. The connection broke during their conversation. He didn't seem to think anything was amiss though."

"Well, if he tries to call home again and can't get through, let me know please," Branok asked, then turned and strode away down the hall.

Two days later, Thrawn and Tycho had locked themselves in Thrawn's quarters, both partially undressed and looking forward to some down-time together, when Thrawn's comlink beeped. Growling, Thrawn grabbed it and thumbed it on. "Yes?"

"Lieutenant, report to the forward briefing room for an emergency meeting," Branok barked.

"Yes sir," Thrawn replied, thumbing off the comlink. He sighed, pulling his shirt and jacket back on. "I'm hoping this won't take long, Tycho. Can you wait for me?"

"Of course," Tycho replied, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Hurry back, love."

Thrawn arrived in the briefing room a short time later, to find the other officers milling about and looking slightly confused. They all scrambled for seats as Branok entered, motioning to Thrawn to join him.

"How many Alderaanians are there on board the _Accuser_?" he asked. He looked much more ashen than usual, as though he was recovering from an illness.

Thrawn shook his head. "I don't know. I only know Tycho."

Branok pursed his lips, the leaned closer to Thrawn. "You're a good officer, Thrawn. I have to say, I hated you at first. You're still not my favorite person in the galaxy, but I recognize superiority when I see it." He took a deep breath, then continued. "What would you do if, for example, you had several people on your ship whose place of origin had just been destroyed?"

"I would gather them together and tell them privately before telling the rest of the ship," Thrawn replied at once. "But…Alderaan can't have been destroyed!"

"Sit down, Lieutenant. I'm afraid I have some bad news," Branok replied grimly. As Thrawn took a seat beside the gaunt Major, Branok took his place at the front of the room and punched a few keys on the holoprojector. The image of Alderaan appeared in the air in front of the gathered officers.

"Gentlemen, this is Alderaan. As you know, five days ago, all contact with Alderaan was broken. No one has been able to get a message in or out for five days." He punched another button, and the image of what appeared to be a small moon appeared beside Alderaan. Thrawn narrowed his eyes at the image, a cold knife of dread slashing through him, as Branok continued. "This, as I'm sure most of you don't know, is the Death Star. It was a top-secret project commissioned by the Emperor himself and is currently under the control of Grand Moff Tarkin and Lord Darth Vader. The designers claimed that the Death Star would have the power to destroy a planet with a single shot…I'm afraid it appears that they were correct. We have finally received confirmation that the Death Star was successfully tested five days ago. Alderaan was the target…and Alderaan is no more."

Thrawn felt sick, and from the way Branok looked at him he was sure he looked sick too. _Alderaan, gone…all of Tycho's family, dead…it can't be, it just can't be…_

"Sir?" said a timid-looking young officer in the back row. "When you say 'gone,' what exactly do you mean?"

Branok sighed. "Current reports indicate that the planet of Alderaan no longer exists. There's a large asteroid field in its place. Current reports also indicate that there were no survivors. Anyone on Alderaan when the Death Star hit is dead."

The total silence that met this statement was perhaps the worst thing Thrawn had ever heard. Glancing around at the faces of his fellow officers, he saw that every person looked mortified. Some looked ready to vomit, while one was being supported by the officers around him -- he seemed to have almost passed out. Finally, Thrawn knew he couldn't sit there anymore. They needed to find out how many Alderaanians there were on the _Accuser_…and he needed to tell Tycho…

He stood abruptly and strode from the room. No one tried to stop him, and those people he met on his way back to his quarters gave him a wide berth. The entire way there, only one thought occupied his mind -- how was he going to tell Tycho?

Too soon, Thrawn found himself standing outside the door to his quarters. Taking a deep breath, he punched in the entry code and stepped into the room.

Tycho was sprawled on the bed, munching on some chocolate and daydreaming. He looked up and smiled as Thrawn came in, then he caught site of Thrawn's face. "What happened?" he asked, sitting up. He tried to stand, but Thrawn placed a hand on his shoulder and made him stay seated. Thrawn knelt in front of him and took both of Tycho's hands in his own.

"Tycho, do you remember what happened…what happened on your birthday, when you called home?"

Tycho studied him. "Yeah, the connection broke. But that was just a HoloNet failure," he said with certainty, though his face belied his nervousness.

Thrawn shook his head sadly. "No, Tycho, I'm afraid it's much worse. We just got confirmation…Alderaan is gone. The Empire built a super weapon called the Death Star, and they used it on Alderaan."

He dropped Tycho's hands and instead gripped his shoulders as the other shuddered violently. "No…that can't be, it's just not possible…" Tycho said, staring into Thrawn's eyes for confirmation. But as he did, he saw that Thrawn was crying, tears gathering in the corners of his glowing eyes and sliding down his cheeks.

"Oh Tycho, I'm so sorry…"

They clung to each other then, both crying, Tycho burying his face against Thrawn's shoulder to muffle his sobs and screams.

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The news of Alderaan's destruction had spread to every member of the crew the next day. A change had come over Branok, who showed great compassion towards his Alderanian crewers and allowed them all to have the day off. Thrawn was still required to work, as were Idris, Thelion, and Hakon, but they spent as much time with Tycho as they could. Thrawn and Tycho ate together in Thrawn's quarters. It was a sad, silent meal, with Tycho only eating because he didn't want Thrawn to fuss over him later.

After dinner, the two lay in Thrawn's bed, with Thrawn gently rubbing Tycho's back. Finally, after almost an hour of this, Tycho sat up and buried his face in his hands. Thrawn sat up beside him, watching him worriedly.

"I can't stay here," Tycho said weakly. "I can't work for the people who killed my family like that…"

"You're going to defect, then?" Thrawn asked.

Tycho nodded, dropping his hands and turning to Thrawn. "We have a day-long leave in a couple of days. I'm going to go and just…not come back."

Thrawn felt as though someone had torn his heart from his chest. "We'll never see each other again if you go. You know I have to stay. My people won't be safe otherwise."

"I know, and I don't want to leave you," Tycho replied, hugging Thrawn tightly. "But I don't see any other way…"

Thrawn held Tycho, resting his cheek on the other's soft hair and struggling to be strong. All their plans…their life together…destroyed, in one moment. "We'll never be married…" he murmured.

Tycho raised his head, gazing into his beloved's glowing eyes. "Yes," he said. "Yes, we will be married." He stood, pulling Thrawn with him. "You have a dress uniform?"

"Of course," the other replied, confused.

"Get dressed then," Tycho replied, wiping the tears from his face and heading for the door. "I'll be back." And he left, leaving a bewildered Thrawn behind.

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Tycho burst into his quarters, startling his roommates so badly that Hakon fell out of his bed. He threw open his closet and pulled out his dress uniform, beginning to change as the others watched in amazement.

"Umm, Tycho? You OK?" Idris asked.

Tycho nodded. "I need you guys to get dressed too," he said, not looking at them.

The others exchanged a worried look, then Thelion asked, "Why, what's going on?"

Tycho looked up from where he was now trying to polish his boots as quickly as possible. "Because I'm going to ask Branok to marry me and Thrawn, and we'll need witnesses."

Hakon winced. "You're going to ask the guy who beat and raped Thrawn to marry you?"

"We don't really have a choice," Tycho replied, glaring at his boot. Idris finally took pity on him and, sitting beside Tycho, picked up the other boot and began polishing it. "I'm leaving in two days, and we need to do this first. Branok's the only one with the authority to marry us, so it has to be him. And…I think, at some level, Thrawn has forgiven him and moved on. I need to do that too."

Thelion and Hakon finally decided that it would just be easier to give in, and they set about changing into their dress uniforms while Idris and Tycho finished with Tycho's boots. Idris threw his own uniform on and pulled a brush though his hair, then they set off for Thrawn's quarters.

Tycho's roommates waited outside for him when he went to get Thrawn. Tycho slipped into Thrawn's room quietly. "Thrawn? You ready?" he called.

"Just about," Thrawn replied, stepping out of his refresher. Tycho turned to stare at him. He was wearing a dress uniform all right, but it certainly wasn't his normal Imperial-issue dress uniform. This one was black, with delicate silver embroidery decorating the collar, cuffs, and jacket hem. The wide black belt had an ornate silver buckle, and a matching silver pin held the floor-length cape in place at Thrawn's right shoulder. Thrawn pulled his perfectly polished black boots on, then turned to Tycho, who noticed a slight purple tinge on his fiance's cheeks.

"It's my dress uniform from home," he said softly, turning about to let Tycho see the whole thing. "What do you think?"

"It's perfect," Tycho replied, suddenly nervous. Why hadn't he told Thrawn his plan before leaving here? "Umm…yeah…I was thinking, if I'm going to be leaving in two days, we don't have much time…so I was also thinking, maybe tonight would be a good time…Idris, Thelion, and Hakon said they'd act as witnesses, and now we just need to go ask Branok…"

Thrawn grinned. "I thought that's what you were up to. Come on, let's go find Branok."

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They found the Captain leaving the bridge a few minutes later. Tycho stopped dead, suddenly nervous. What had possessed him to think he could approach Branok about this? Thrawn, however, wasn't nearly so shy, and he stepped right in front of Branok. The captain stopped, eyeing the small group warily. "This is going to be interesting," he said dryly.

Thrawn responded with a wry smile. "Probably more so for me than for you, Captain. I have a favor to ask you."

Branok blinked. "A favor?"

"Yes, a favor."

"Well…alright, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to hear it anyway. What do you want?"

Thrawn glanced at Tycho, then said, "We need you to marry us."

Branok blinked again. "Now?"

Thrawn nodded. "Sooner would indeed be better, Captain."

The Captain looked flustered for a moment, then he managed to pull himself together and nodded firmly. "Yes, Lieutenant, I can do that for you. Wait here, I'll be right back."

He disappeared down the corridor, returning about ten minutes later in his own dress uniform and carrying a small datapad, on which he was typing rapidly. "Now then," he said, stopping before the small group. "Just one thing left to do…" And with that, he stepped onto the bridge and shouted, "Everybody to the auxiliary bridge, now!"

Tycho watched, amused, as the bridge crew scrambled to obey. When they had all left, Branok nodded happily and went to stand in front of his command chair. He motioned for the others to join him. Thrawn took Tycho's hand and the two moved to stand before Branok, with Idris, Thelion, and Hakon arranged in a neat line behind them.

In the future, when remembering this night, Tycho would be unable to remember exactly what Branok said. He wouldn't even be able to remember exactly what he or Thrawn said as vows. He would remember the thousands of stars sparkling beyond the viewport, the way the light shimmered in Thrawn's hair and sparkled on his uniform's decorations, the feeling of Thrawn's arms around him, the way Thrawn smelled as the kissed at the end of the ceremony. He would also remember Branok smiling, the first genuine smile he'd ever seen the Captain give, and his roommates brushing tears from their eyes as they congratulated Thrawn and Tycho.

Thrawn held Tycho close, glancing up and nodding his thanks to Branok, who nodded back and quietly slipped from the bridge. Idris motioned to Thelion and Hakon, who followed him out as well, leaving Thrawn and Tycho alone in front of the star-strewn view. They stood there for a long time, clinging to each other, not wanting the moment to end. Finally, Tycho tilted his head up to look into Thrawn's eyes and asked, "Shall we go back to your quarters?" Thrawn nodded, letting Tycho lead him from the bridge and back down the corridor to his quarters.

* * *

Just one more chapter to go! Reviews still welcome as always. And speaking of reviews, someone asked me how it is that Thrawn can be 19 in this story...well, it's because your authoress is crazy, she has a thing for YoungMilitaryGenius!Thrawn, and back when she first wrote this she decided to make the whole thing AU so she could indulge her desire for more stuff about a young Thrawn. That, and so she could pair Thrawn with the most unlikely person ever (I mean, really, Thrawn and Tycho? I can't even remember how I came up with the idea.) 


	13. Chapter 13

Last chapter! And just in time for the end of the year, too. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 13**

The night before Tycho left, Thrawn found himself crawling around on the floor of his quarters, searching for the small box of medications he had brought from home. He finally found it, far under his bed where he would have to be desperate to be motivated enough to get it. Stretching as far as he could, Thrawn finally managed to grab the box and drag it out. He sat on the floor for a minute, studying the box, before finally opening it and rummaging around in it. He found what he wanted, took the small bottle from the box, and shoved the box back under his bed. Thrawn had just opened the bottle and dropped two of the small white pills into his hand when Tycho emerged from the refresher, a towel wrapped around his waist.

Pointing to the pills, Tycho asked, "What are those?"

"Very strong stim pills," Thrawn replied. "I don't feel like sleeping tonight."

Tycho sat down on the edge of the bed and Thrawn swallowed the pills quickly, then rested his head on Tycho's leg and reached up to curl his long blue fingers around Tycho's slightly smaller hand. Try as he might, he couldn't stop dwelling on the fact that he may very well never see Tycho again after tonight. Tycho ran his free hand through Thrawn's hair, watching as the younger man closed his eyes and sighed.

"So what happens now?" Thrawn asked, trying to keep his voice from shaking.

Tycho shook his head sadly. "I don't know, Thrawn," he whispered. "I still think you should come with me. The Rebels would love to have someone like you in their ranks."

Thrawn shook his head sadly, finally rising enough to sit beside Tycho on the edge of the bed. "I can't leave, Tycho. The can protect me, sure, but can they protect my people? I doubt it. I can't just put my people in danger like that." Even as he said it, he felt his heart breaking. Damn these responsibilities!

They stared at each other for a long time, each memorizing every bit of the other's features, both wanting to postpone the inevitable parting for as long as possible. Finally, Tycho shook his head and declared that he needed sleep. Thrawn lay down beside him, holding Tycho close and rubbing his back. Before long, Tycho was asleep, and Thrawn settled in for a long night of holding Tycho and trying to keep his heart from breaking further.

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Tycho awoke early the next morning, to see Thrawn lying beside him, still awake. The other man looked slightly paler than usual, and his eyes were puffy from crying. Tycho pushed a stray strand of hair out of Thrawn's face, causing him to smile weakly. "How did you sleep?" Thrawn whispered.

"Very well, actually," Tycho replied sadly. "You didn't sleep at all, did you?"

Thrawn shook his head. "Like I said, those stim pills are really strong. I…I couldn't let myself sleep, Tycho, not knowing I might never see you again…"

Tycho wrapped his arms around Thrawn once more and pulled him closer, kissing him tenderly and rubbing his back. Thrawn held Tycho tightly, burying his face in Tycho's shoulder and squeezing his eyes shut against the fresh round of tears trying to fight their way to his eyes.

Finally, after a good half hour had passed like that, Tycho kissed Thrawn's forehead one more time and whispered, "I have to get dressed now, love. I've got to catch the first shuttle down."

Thrawn watched Tycho put a few final things in his travel bag. Then, overcome with a sudden flood of inspiration, he opened one of the drawers in the small dresser at the foot of his bed and poked around in there, looking for something. Finally finding what he needed, he pulled it out, closed the dresser, and turned to Tycho.

"What's that?" Tycho asked, wrapping a shirt around the framed holo of his family he had taken to carrying everywhere and tucking it carefully into the bag. He took the small box from Thrawn and opened it, to find himself staring at the elaborate pin that Thrawn had worn to their wedding.

"Something for you to remember me by," Thrawn said sadly.

Tycho tucked the box away where it would be well-protected, then turned to Thrawn. He reached out and gently caressed Thrawn's cheek, fighting back tears. "You mean so much to me, and you always will," he whispered. "I love you more than anything."

Thrawn nodded, hurting too much to talk, finally pulling Tycho into one last tight embrace and passionate kiss. When they finally broke apart, he whispered a final "I love you" to Tycho, who then gathered his things and slipped quietly from Thrawn's quarters. When the door had closed behind Tycho, Thrawn collapsed onto his bed, burying his face in a pillow so no one would hear him crying.

_Epilogue 9 - years later_

Tycho groaned and collapsed into the chair behind his makeshift desk at Rogue Squadron's headquarters on Coruscant. It had been a rough several months, what with Thrawn's constant attacks on the Republic. Tycho grinned as he remembered the times, so many years ago, when his shipmates on the _Accuser_ had suspected that Thrawn's alien heritage would keep him from being promoted as much as he deserved. Oh, how wrong those people had been.

Though he would never say so to any of his friends in the Republic, he was incredibly proud of Thrawn. After all, the younger man had defied all the odds and become a Grand Admiral in the Imperial Navy. Even if he was officially the enemy, there was no denying his military genius. Tycho suspected that many in the upper echelons of the Republic's military respected Thrawn, even if they were fighting tooth and nail against him.

He opened the drawer where he kept Thrawn's pin, his one physical reminder of the time he'd had with the only person he'd ever loved -- and still loved. Of course, he now had a healthy collection of holos going, but they were all publicity shots taken of Thrawn over the years. Tycho wondered if Thrawn had a similar collection of pictures going as well, but since they hadn't been in contact in years he had no way of finding out.

Tycho looked up at the sound of footsteps approaching his office, quickly shutting the drawer and letting the smile fade from his face. Moments later, an exhausted but elated-looking Wedge Antilles appeared in the door.

"Tycho! You're not going to believe it…I barely believe it, actually, it's just too good to be true…"

The Alderaanian laughed. "Spit it out, Wedge, what's up?"

"He's dead, Tycho. Apparently his Noghri bodyguard killed him at Bilbringi. We don't have to worry about him again!"

Tycho fought to keep the smile on his face, though Wedge's words had torn his heart in two and pulled the ground right out from under him. Thrawn dead? It couldn't be…

"You all right?" Wedge asked, suddenly looking worried.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. It's just…wow, you're right, I don't really believe it either," Tycho replied. Though normally happy to have Wedge's company, he wished the other man would just leave him to his grief, even for just a few minutes.

Wedge sighed. "We lost so many in this fight, didn't we? It's kind of a mixed blessing. We lost a tyrant, but that can't bring back the people we lost."

Tycho nodded, feeling numb. He felt a burning desire to shout at Wedge that Thrawn was no tyrant, to explain just exactly what Thrawn had been like, but he knew he couldn't do it. It was just too painful. He finally gave in to the urge to cry, knowing that Wedge would mistake it for grief over the loss of their comrades during their battles against Thrawn. And while it was true that Tycho missed them and mourned them, he could never mourn them in the same way as he mourned Thrawn.

He had just buried his face in his hands when he heard footsteps again. Looking up, he saw a young man he didn't recognize stop outside his office, looking nervous. Wedge took a step to the side to give Tycho a clear view into the hallway. "Can I help you?" Tycho called.

The young many stepped into the room and gave Tycho and Wedge a shaky salute, which they returned. Then he held out a package to Tycho, saying, "This just arrived for you Captain Celchu. I was told to bring it to you."

Tycho took the package and nodded. "Thank you," he said, and as the courier left, he carefully opened the package.

"What is it?" Wedge asked

Finally managing to unwrap the object, Tycho held it up and stared. It was a datapad, but not just any datapad. He would know this one anywhere. It was Thrawn's personal datapad. A small light blinked in the upper left corner, indicating the presence of an unread message. Tycho thought for a moment, finally remembering Thrawn's access codes, and tapped at the keypad. The message appeared on the screen, in Thrawn's elegant handwriting -- and, much to Tycho's surprise, in Thrawn's native language. Even more to his surprise, he could read the letter:

_My dearest Tycho -_

_If you've gotten this letter, you've probably heard the reports that I'm dead. They probably say my bodyguard killed me. Don't believe them for a minute. I'm very much alive (though in a coma -- long story) and on my way home as you read this. Years ago, I came to the conclusion that the only way out of Imperial service would be to fake my own death and return home. I've done it now because the opportunity presented itself.  
_

_If you can, I would love to have you join me at home. If not, I understand. Being Rogue Squadron's Captain carries with it many responsibilities. I've attached the coordinates for my home planet to this letter. Use them whenever you like._

_  
I still love you more than anything, Tycho, and I hope we can see each other again some day. I'm so proud of you. Take care of yourself now._

_All my love forever, Thrawn. _

"Tycho? What is it?"

Wedge's voice brought him back to reality. "What? Oh, just a note from an old friend who's still in the Empire. Don't know why he sent the entire data pad, but oh well, his loss."

Wedge left a few minutes later, off to share the news of Thrawn's end with his other friends and comrades. Tycho turned to his astromec, which had been sitting quietly in the corner all this time. "Come here, I have a data transfer for you," he said. The droid obeyed, and Tycho transferred Thrawn's coordinates to the unit's memory. He saved them to an otherwise-empty datacard as well, just in case something ever happened to the datapad or the droid. Though he couldn't go now, Tycho had every intention of going to Thrawn's home someday. It was a matter of when, not if.


End file.
